SMART Bus Driver Falls Asleep At The Wheel, Smashes Into Several Cars
WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) - Authorities say a 65-year-old SMART bus driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into six vehicles, leaving two people hospitalized.
The incident happened just after 6 p.m. Monday on Maple Road in West Bloomfield Township.
According to police, the bus was traveling westbound on Maple Road, between Middlebelt and Inkster roads, when the driver dozed off, crossed the center line and struck a vehicle. The bus then rear-ended another car, forcing the vehicle into opposite lanes of travel where it was struck by another eastbound traveling vehicle.
The bus continued driving westbound, police said, striking four more vehicles and a guardrail before coming to rest. A single passenger on the bus, as well as the driver, were uninjured.
A passenger in one of the vehicles struck by the bus had to be extracted from their car. That person, along with the vehicle's driver, were taken to an area hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Their current conditions are unknown.
No other injuries were reported.
Police said the bus driver tested negative for alcohol at the scene. He told police he remembered falling asleep just prior to the first collision.
An investigation is ongoing.
