By: Las Vegas Now Staff
A Las Vegas homeowner is cleaning up after a CAT bus slammed into her house Thursday night. The bus clipped a car, then plowed through a block wall and into the house. There were no serious injuries, but the house was severely damaged.
Residents say they've been afraid for sometime that something like this might happen. Metro police say the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but residents in the neighborhood tell Eyewitness News they've been afraid for some time that something like this might happen.
Robert DiGuilio has lived in this northeast Las Vegas neighborhood for 27 years. “It's getting more dangerous every day,” he says. As the traffic has increased — so have the speeds.
“The speed limit is 25, but we've seen cars and trucks come through here at 60 and 70 miles per hour,” he said.
And that's why DiGuilio wasn't surprised when a CAT bus collided with a car in the busy residential intersection.
The bus left a big path of destruction in its wake. It was traveling southbound on Christy and was turning left on Maple when it collided with the driver of a Mustang. First it took out a block wall, plowed into a backyard shed, took out a second block wall and landed on the backyard patio of another home.
“I think all that stuff slowed the bus down, thankfully, because only 20 feet away was a 2-week-old baby sleeping in the next room,” said homeowner Michele Navarro. Her house suffered the most damage. But no one was seriously hurt, and Navarro is the first to point out property can be replaced — lives cannot.
While a construction crew shored up and boarded up Navarro's house, Metro Police continued their investigation into the cause of the crash, with the full cooperation of the Regional Transportation Commission.
“An incident like last night's is truly an isolated incident. I can't even recall the last time something like this happened but we will cooperate with police to find out what occurred,” said Tracy Bower of the RTC.
Part of that investigation will include a post-accident drug test of the bus driver. But Metro says its preliminary investigation reveals that drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor. No arrests or citations have been issued yet.
Eyewitness News received a statement Friday from Veoila Transportation, the RTC's CAT bus service provider.
They said: “Coach operators must qualify for a driving position which includes a pre-screening process and a training program approved by the Department of Transportation. No driver is released for public service until he or she has met all the criteria to safely operate a CAT bus.”
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