Video shows VIA bus drift across lane before causing 5-vehicle crash

VIA driver resigned after Aug. 16 crash

SAN ANTONIO – Video obtained by KSAT 12 Friday shows a VIA Metropolitan Transit bus drift across a lane last month before crashing into four other vehicles.

VIA officials confirm the driver resigned after the accident.

The wreck happened Aug. 16 on Ruiz Street near Northwest 23rd Street.

The driver of the bus, 48-year old Chaletta Springs, and 45-year old Sandy Garcia, the woman who was seated in a parked truck, were hospitalized.

The video, obtained by KSAT 12 through an open records request, shows witnesses and then San Antonio Fire Department personnel trying to rescue the woman from inside the truck.

Rudy Herrera was one of those rushing to help, his truck was also hit. 

“I freaked out because I saw all these vehicles crushed together,” he said.

Herrera said neighbors tried to pull the vehicles apart, but the impact locked them together.

“The bus, the front tires were off the ground,” he said.

The VIA driver did not appear to be distracted before the crash. Officials did not release additional details about her resignation.

Garcia was seriously hurt. “She was coherent she knew what had happened,” Herrera recalls.

He estimates the damages to his truck to be over $2,000, but he has yet to find out if VIA will pay for the damage.


About the Authors:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

Patty Santos joined the KSAT 12 News team in July 2017. She has a proven track record of reporting on hard-hitting news that affects the community.