School Bus Driver Found Not at Fault in Crash With Transit Bus

BOSTON — The driver of a school bus was not at fault in a collision with a transit bus here on Monday, transit police said — correcting an earlier statement on the crash.

The incident, which involved a Boston Public Schools school bus and a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) transit bus, occurred at about 5:43 a.m. on Monday.

The MBTA Transit Police issued a statement that morning in response to media requests about the crash. In that statement, the police department said that a preliminary investigation suggested that the school bus driver was at fault.

Later in the day, MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan made a follow-up statement after “a more thorough review of the incident,” providing a clearer picture of what happened.

The MBTA transit bus was being driven by a 57-year-old man who has worked for the agency for 20 years. According to Sullivan’s updated statement, the transit bus driver failed to stop for a flashing red light at an intersection, and his bus collided with the Boston Public Schools bus, which had already entered the intersection.

There were no students on the school bus at the time. Five passengers on the transit bus reported minor injuries and were treated at the scene or at local hospitals.

Sullivan said that although the incident was still under investigation as of Monday afternoon, “we know enough, with confidence, the MBTA bus operator will be issued a Massachusetts citation for failure to stop.”

Sullivan added that the MBTA Transit Police tries to be as transparent as possible with the media for these types of incidents, but he regrets the earlier error of suggesting that the school bus driver was to blame.

“I accept full responsibility for the unintended misinformation released earlier,” Sullivan said. “We are grateful no one was seriously injured and particularly grateful school children were not on board at the time of the incident."