Gail Delaughter
A METRO bus travels down a street in Houston.
A bus driven by an employee for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) fatally struck a pedestrian early Friday morning during a “road test,” according to the public transit agency.
It marked the second time in less than a month that someone driving a METRO bus struck and killed a pedestrian. The latest deadly collision also came less than 12 hours after another fatal crash in Houston between a vehicle driver and a pedestrian.
The Friday morning collision occurred at approximately 4 a.m. while a Hiram Clarke Transit Center mechanic was conducting a vehicle road test near the Burnett Operations Facility, according to METRO. The preliminary investigation indicates that the pedestrian entered the roadway while the bus was traveling westbound under a bridge, a METRO spokesperson told Houston Public Media.
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METRO said morning fog appeared to interfere with the driver’s ability to see the pedestrian, who was transported to a local hospital and later died, according to METRO, which did not identify the pedestrian.
METRO police were investigating the crash later Friday morning, according to the agency spokesperson, who said traffic may be rerouted on Holems Road as investigators process the scene.
At approximately 5:30 a.m. Nov. 17, a METRO bus driver struck a pedestrian in the 10500 block of the North Freeway’s HOV lane. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
Nine passengers were on board the bus at the time of the November collision, and no injuries were reported among them, according to METRO. The driver of the bus was transported to the hospital “out of caution due to distress,” METRO said at the time.
The deadly collision on Friday came less than 12 hours after another fatal auto-pedestrian crash in Houston. A 57-year-old man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in the 2400 block of Bissonnet Street at approximately 7:25 p.m. Thursday, according to the Houston Police Department (HPD), which said the man was struck by an unknown vehicle, the driver of which did not stop to render aid. The Houston Fire Department pronounced the man dead at the scene.
HPD is asking anyone with information regarding the Thursday night crash to contact its hit-and-run unit at 713-247-4065 or contact Crime Stoppers of Houston anonymously at 713-222-TIPS.