An Aggie bus driver who ran over a woman on campus last month said he never saw her in the crosswalk but felt a bump, heard screaming and stopped as passers-by urgently alerted him to the accident, according to a police report.
Michelle Hayes, a 24-year-old newly hired business assistant for the psychology department, suffered serious injuries. She later told police that she remembered being hit and then rolling under the bus, where she was found “hugging” part of the undercarriage of the vehicle.
Kyle Persyn, the 21-year-old student driver who remains employed by Transportation Services, was charged with failing to yield the right of way for a pedestrian in a crosswalk in the Jan. 14 incident. The police report states that driver inattention caused the accident, but on Saturday, Persyn said he wasn’t distracted by anything.
“I was responsible because I was the driver,” Persyn said. “But I just didn’t see her, so I don’t know what I could have done to avoid it.”
Persyn said he paid the fine for the citation but wasn’t penalized or disciplined for the accident by Trans portation Services. The junior from Castroville began as a bus driver in May and said he had a perfect driving record until the accident.
He remains shaken by the accident and constantly thinks of Hayes, he said, though he hasn’t tried to contact her.
“I just want everyone to know that I have 100 percent heartfelt regret over the entire incident,” he said. “I have sent many prayers [to Hayes]. It’s something I really reg ret.”
Officials with the University Police Department did not release a copy of the police report until The Eagle filed a request under the Texas Public Information Act, despite lawyers with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas saying that such a document is clearly an open record.
The newspaper also was required to file an open records request to receive a copy of Transportation Services’ handbook, as well as statistics on the number of bus accidents in 2007 and 2008. Documents show that 17 wrecks were reported last year, compared with 25 in 2007. Thirty-three of the 42 accidents over the past two years were blamed on driver error, according to reports. Four traffic citations were given to university bus drivers last year, said Jason Cook, the university’s vice president for marketing and communications.
The accident
Police reports state that Hayes was crossing Joe Routt Boulevard in a crosswalk around noon when the 18,144-pound bus struck her with its front right corner while turning right from Throckmorton Street onto Joe Routt Boulevard. Hayes was walking to the Central Campus Parking Garage to head to lunch.
Hayes, who remained on leave without pay from the university Friday, was hired a few weeks before the accident. She did not have health insurance through the university; to be eligible, employees must have worked there at least 90 days, according to A&M policy, which is similar to those of most businesses.
Hayes was taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan and transferred to Memorial Hermann in Houston following the accident. She suffered several fractures to the pelvis, a compound fracture to the pelvis through the right hip, a 21/2- inch laceration in the back of her head and blood loss, according to the police report.
Officials with the Houston hospital said Hayes was no longer under their care.
Hayes has declined to speak to reporters about the accident.
Two passengers, ages 23 and 24, were on the bus at the time of the accident. Neither witnessed the woman being hit, according to police reports. Both said they were sitting in the third seat when they heard a noise, then saw people waving their hands to stop the bus, the report states.
The bus stopped about 60 feet from the intersection, according to the police report written by University Police Officer James Sajewski, who said that when he arrived, several people were standing around Hayes. Blood was visible on the roadway and pieces of hair were hanging from the bus, the officer wrote in his report.
Several members of the Corps of Cadets pulled Hayes, who was on the passenger side, from under the bus. Those students, along with several other witnesses, told police that they looked toward the noise and “observed Hayes rolling under the bus,” according to police reports.
Another witness told police that he crossed the street ahead of Hayes and turned to see if the person walking with him had made it across. That’s when he saw Hayes, who had walked about one-third of the way through the intersection, hit by the bus. He detailed watching her “fold under the bus.”
Sajewski wrote in his report that the driver said he never saw Hayes.
Persyn, who was driving a limited route several days before the spring semester officially began, was given drug and alcohol tests after the accident and passed both, the police report states.
The police report states that the driver was distracted but doesn’t say why.
The Transportation Service policy prohibits drivers from drinking and eating while driving; they also can’t use cell phones or hands-free electronic devices or wear earphones.
By the numbers
Last year, the top two most common accidents involving A&M buses involved colliding with a state vehicle or equipment and hitting something after passing and/or turning, according to the report. The documents show that 124 accidents involving buses have been reported since 2004 and that the majority — 84 — were classified as the driver’s fault, according to the report.
The last previous time an A&M bus accident involved a pedestrian was in 2007, according to the report, which stated that the driver was to blame and that the pedestrian was not injured. An accident in 2006 involved a pedestrian entering the crosswalk and, again, the driver was cited.
A&M Transportation Services, which has between 300 to 350 student drivers for the 79 university-owned buses, requires all drivers to have a good driving record and to have a Class B vehicle operator’s license, which is a commercial license. The drivers receive frequent review from supervisors and extensive training prior to being allowed to transport passengers. They must pass a series of tests before being approved to drive, according to university officials.
Two years of work experience also is required, and commercial driving experience is preferred.
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