Milwaukee County fatal bus crash; video shows driver, collision

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Transit System on Thursday released video from a December bus crash that killed one man and injured another. The bus driver has since been fired and charged. 

Bus crash

The backstory:

The crash happened near 47th and Villard just after 11 p.m. on Dec. 25. A criminal complaint states police arrived to find two damaged vehicles in the roadway and a trail of blood. The bus had front-end damage and a broken windshield.

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One man, identified as 79-year-old Robert Clemons, was run over and killed. Another man was injured. The victim who survived told police, per the complaint, that they were working to fix a truck when the bus hit them and the vehicle. He suffered leg injuries and a broken arm. Police noted the vehicles that the bus hit were legally parked.

Video from fatal bus crash near 47th and Villard (Courtesy: MCTS)

In court

The backstory:

Court records show 52-year-old Montrell Pharm is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and reckless driving causing great bodily harm in connection to the December crash.

Montrell Pharm

MCTS bus video

Dig deeper:

The MCTS bus was equipped with cameras, one of which faced outward and showed the direction the bus was moving and another that recorded the driver.

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The complaint said video showed the bus primarily driving in the bike lane. It stopped at a red light, and then sat there as the light turned green, sitting through the cycle of lights again. As the bus proceeded through the intersection of 46th and Villard, two parked vehicles involved in the crash were seen ahead before the bus hit one and pushed it into the other.

The bus then struck a person and moved from the bicycle lane back to the main lane of traffic. The bus stopped and then began to move forward again, before stopping and pulling over near 48th and Villard.

The complaint went on to say the driver, Pharm, appeared to be sleeping or had his eyes closed when the bus was both stopped and moving. 

Video from fatal bus crash near 47th and Villard (Courtesy: MCTS)

The bus driver

What they're saying:

Police interviewed Pharm. According to court filings, he said he had been working 14-hour days since Dec. 22 and had one eight-and-a-half-hour shift in between – and that he slept the night before for six hours.

Pharm said he felt ashamed by what happened, per the complaint, but that he was "looking straight ahead, and he had a clear path, and that he was good." The next thing he knew there was an impact. He also made various comments about his health, including comments about his blood sugar, that he is "pre-diabetic" and his body must have shut down. He commented that he does not have insurance, so he has not been able to get the medication in some time.

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Milwaukee County fatal bus crash, union calls out MCTS

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Dig deeper:

MCTS records reveal that Pharm was involved in an incident on Oct. 15, 2024 while operating an MCTS bus in which he was involved in a "preventable accident" at 76th and Burleigh in which he "appeared to fall asleep causing his bus to make contact with the rear of a stationary vehicle at a red light."

Records obtained from the MCTS revealed that Pharm has undergone fatigue training and has been instructed on what to do in the event he feels too tired/fatigued to operate a bus, per the complaint.