'Failed to apply the brake:' Investigation into May accident involving MCTS bus complete

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee County Transit System officials announced Friday, July 27 that the investigation into a May 15 bus accident at 12th and Wisconsin has wrapped up. It seems the bus driver may have made a dangerous mistake. Video from the accident is frightening. The bus can be seen moving south toward North 12th Street and Wisconsin Avenue. At the intersection, it doesn't slow down. The driver missed a car, smashed into a tree, a light pole, and then Johnston Hall on the Marquette University campus. The driver told officials the brakes failed.

MCTS bus crash into Johnston Hall on Marquette campus

MCTS bus crash into Johnston Hall on Marquette campus

From another angle, the terror is evident; the bus driver can be heard on video screaming before the impact.

Now, the engineering investigation is complete and the reason for the crash: "He just thought he was hitting the brake, he truly did. This wasn't an intentional act, but he was hitting the gas," said Brendan Conway, Milwaukee County Transit System. "And as he kept hitting the gas, the bus continued to go faster." Jeff Peterson, the independent engineer from Skogen Engineering Group, found:

“No mechanical defects were found during our inspection of the bus that pre-existed the accident.”

Prior to this accident, the bus driver drove for 12 years without any accidents. He is not driving a public bus route for the next six months. The transit company put him on overnight bus cleaning and maintenance,then he will be reevaluated. "No one around here can ever remember this happening. We travel about 18 million miles a year, our buses travel -- which is a lot. We actually are very lucky. We have very few accidents period. Certainly anything of this type has never happened," said Conway. There were a handful of riders during the crash. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured. Exams had just ended on MU's campus and there were no students walking on the sidewalk during the few horrifying moments.

MCTS bus crash into Johnston Hall on Marquette campus

"Right there is probably one of the busiest spots on Marquette's campus. It's actually the intersection of some of our busiest bus routes we have three bus routes that go there so lots of people are usually in that area," said Conway. MCTS buses are inspected constantly and this particular bus just had its brakes looked at two weeks prior.