Las Vegas deadly bus stop crash prompts safety concerns

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Sep 14, 2012 at 2:17 pm

Las Vegas deadly bus stop crash

Citizens Area Transit Bus Stop enclosure (Photo credit: time_anchor)

The Las Vegas deadly bus stop crash that occurred early Thursday morning has claimed the lives of 4 people and injured 8 people including the driver with some of the wounded left in critical condition.

The driver Gary Lee Hosey Jr, 23 who was seriously injured in the crash suffering from a possible broken back was charged in absentia with 4 counts of DUI resulting in death. Once he is well enough, he will be transferred to jail.

According to online records, Hosey has a previous arrest record that includes offenses for larceny, larceny from a person and lewd conduct. 8 news Now reports that his previous record also includes being arrested for possession of a controlled substance and obstruction of a police officer.

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He was reportedly speeding through the intersection in a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo in excess of 100 MPH before smashing into the bus stop.

There were some unsubstantiated reports circulating that he asked if he had arrived at the liquor store yet.

Las Vegas bus stop crash victims identified

Three women and one man waiting at the bus stop were killed. One of the deceased has been identified by her daughter as Jonni Gardener who was waiting for the bus to go to her job at Sunrise Hospital where she worked in the surgery department.

The three others killed have been identified as Gerber Herman Ayala-Tomasino Jr 24, Margoth Gonzalez, 65, and Hyon Vooley, 47.

The 8 people injured include the driver, Hosey, 4 passengers riding in the Monte Carlo identified as Akiliu Atanaw 24, Marig Tewolde 26, Wensim Fisenar 31 and Tamesgen Adam 22.

The three pedestrians injured while waiting at the bus stop have been identified as Billy Joel-Ramirez-Fuentes 31, Zakiya Corner 29 and Zeniang Wang 19.

Adam and Wang are said to be in critical condition.

Las Vegas deadly bus stop crash prompts safety concerns

The Las Vegas deadly bus stop crash crash prompts safety concerns amongst people that depend on public transportation. How safe is it? Should there be a concrete or other type of barrier to help protect waiting bus riders.

Looking at other bus stop enclosures in the same Southwest part of the Las Vegas, we observed passengers standing behind the enclosure rather than sitting in it and we noticed this even before the most recent deadly Las Vegas bus stop crash.

At a CAT bus stop, along the 201 bus route, located on West Tropicana and Jones Blvd heading east, passengers are rarely spotted waiting in the bus stop enclosure. even in the triple digit Las Vegas heat. Instead out of safety concerns, they stand behind the enclosure in a grassy area in a parking lot that houses a Rebel and an Albertson’s.

At the very next bus stop along the same route, at west Tropicana and Duneville Street, similar activity has been noticed with riders standing behind the enclosure.

Until and unless a major overhaul of the bus stop enclosures is undertaken, here is a list of 3 Bus Safety Tips that you can use to help improve your chances of not falling victim to an out of control vehicle careening into a bus stop.

3 Bus Safety Tips when waiting for a bus

English: A Citizens Area Transit New Flyer D40...

A Citizens Area Transit bus at the Downtown Transportation Center in downtown Las Vegas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1.) Do not get to the stop early. Many experienced riders arrive at the enclosure or bus stop 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.

2.) Utilize the RTC service RideRTC so that you know exactly what time the bus is scheduled to arrive. To use RideRTC simply compose a text message to 41411. In the body of the message, Type rideRTC followed by a space and then the bus stop id number, (example rideRTC 452).

According to the RTC website, within seconds you will receive a text message with the next three scheduled stops at your location

3.) If you have a web enabled smart phone, use the ride tracker provided by the RTC. Bookmark rtcsnv.com on your smart phone for easy access. Simply click the ride transit icon and you will have access to ride tracker and other alerts.

If you do notice a bus stop that appears to be unsafe, you can report it by contacting the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) via their online contact form. Anytime we have contacted them, we have always received a timely personalized response.