Two people were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after a Razorback Transit bus ran a red light and hit their vehicle earlier this week, according to a crash report released Friday by the Fayetteville Police Department.
The bus driver, Kari McCawley, was placed on administrative leave with pay indefinitely during the investigation. Fayetteville police and Razorback Transit are investigating the wreck., said University of Arkansas spokesman Mark Rushing.
McCawley suffered minor injuries in the wreck. She was cited on suspicion of careless driving, police said.
A police report states McCawley was driving the bus southbound on Leverett Avenue when she ran a red light and collided with a vehicle driven by Stephanie Isfalt, of Farmington, at the intersection with Sycamore Street. Isfalt was transported to Washington Regional Medical Center after complaining of pain in her left side and neck, according to the crash report.
Isfalt’s passenger, Lucas King, of Fayetteville, also complained of injuries to his left side and was hospitalized, the report states.
The bus driver told police her light was green the last time she looked at it, but she turned to speak to a rider on the bus, according to the crash report. The bus had about 12 riders on board. No injuries to bus riders were reported.
The crash caused an estimated $9,000 in damage to Isfalt’s vehicle and $8,000 in damage to the UA transit bus. McCawley was not impaired and “appeared normal,” police said.
This is the second crash this year involving a Razorback Transit bus where the bus driver may have broken the law. A seven-year-old boy was struck by a UA bus in February and suffered critical injuries. On-board video released by the university showed the driver in that case was speeding, but the driver was not cited by police.
University officials said police cleared the driver in February’s case of any lawbreaking, although video showed the driver was traveling 10 miles over the speed limit.
Rushing said the university has not had a driver at-fault in a crash investigation in at least 10 years, during which time UA drivers logged about six million miles of drive time.
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