WPRO Newsroom
A woman was trapped beneath a RIPTA bus around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after the bus rolled over her on Broad Street in Providence. Police say the unidentified 31-year-old woman was attempting to get on the bus at the time.
“For some reason she ended up trapped beneath the bus,” said Providence Police Major Thomas Verdi. “She’s in tough shape, she’s [in] critical [condition]. Let’s hope that she makes it.”
Ward 8 City Councilman Wilbur Jennings was nearby at the time, and said when he arrived on the scene, he saw the woman’s leg stuck under a rear wheel of the bus. He said the sight made tears roll down his face.
Providence Fire Department Battalion Chief David Soscia said she sustained injuries to her right leg and hip, as well as her left foot.
“She was trapped pretty good underneath the tire,” he said. “We used blocking and inflatable industrial airbags to lift the bus up.”
Soscia said the process to free the woman took about 15 minutes.
Maj. Verdi said the bus will be towed and inspected; the bus driver, according to protocol, will be drug tested.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the person who was injured and we will be cooperating fully with police,” said RIPTA CEO Ray Studley.
In a statement, RIPTA said the driver, who was not immediately identified, would be placed on administrative leave pending the results of the police investigation.
RIPTA Board Chairman and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian says it is driver policy to keep the bus moving once it is in motion.
“If [the bus] keeps stopping and starting you create safety issues for accidents and all sorts of other things,” said Avedisian.
Avedisian says it appears the bus was already in motion when the women tried flagging the driver down to board.
RIPTA CEO Ray Studley told WPRO’s John DePetro the incidents of buses hitting pedestrians is unacceptable.
“We’ll do whatever we can to make sure our system is safe and secure for the passengers that use RIPTA,” said Studley.
