Inspector: No Mechanical Issues In Parkway North Port Authority Bus Crash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The non-jury trial of two former Port Authority bus drivers continued Tuesday with new video of the bus being released.
Juliann Maier and Thomas Frauens are accused of racing their Port Authority buses on the Parkway North in 2014.
Judge Jeffrey Manning saw surveillance video taken at the Ross garage of Port Authority bus 1501 just before the crash on I-279. It was the bus operated by Maier.
The bus comes through the garage lanes at a good clip and then stops. Maier exited the bus before she set out on the road.
Prosecutors say the video shows no brake problems with the bus at that point.
But by the time Maier's bus and Frauens' bus get on the Parkway North, her bus is seen swaying back and forth toward Frauens' bus. Prosecutors say that was the result of racing.
She and her bus ended up down a hillside.
Pittsburgh Police collision inspector Ryan Carr testified he found no mechanical problems that would have caused the crash.
City police collision inspector: Found no mechanical issues in Maier's bus that would have caused crash on I-279
— Harold Hayes (@hhayes_harold) April 12, 2016
Also, Port Authority mechanic Jeffrey Rapp testified he inspected the same bus six months earlier when a driver complained of its steering. He found a loose bolt; it was tightened and the bus was fine.
But the defense says that previous driver's concern caused a workers' compensation claim.
"The same bus swayed violently six months before," said Maier's defense attorney, Joel Sansone. "The same bus with that old original equipment sway bar bushing swayed and put a lady out of work on workers' compensation. He says that doesn't have anything to do with this."
The prosecution also introduced Frauens' Port Authority accident report.
In it, Frauens says they were both on the road waving to each other.
"I noticed she came close to me. No contact was made by my bus," he wrote.
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