More problems with Asheville Transit System buses alleged in civil court case

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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This information, passed to me by an anonymous source, reportedly was part of a civil lawsuit involving the Asheville Transit System. I’ll have to track down the case to confirm. 

The Asheville bus system last year had some serious issues that were well-documented.

Here’s the new info:

1.  On the afternoon of April 4, 2011 Eddie Miller caught the bus in front of 165 South French Broad Ave. Mr. Miller has used a cane for 30 years because of an injured leg;  he got on the bus filled with children just out of school, and was forced to go to the back of the bus because the children were sitting in the front handicapped section.  Bus drivers will not ask children to move out of the handicapped section to make room for handicapped passengers such as Mr. Miller.

Mr. Miller found a seat at the back of the bus.  Soon the bus stopped and children got off the bus, Mr. Miller got up with the children to find a better seat. The bus driver, not noticing that Mr. Miller was standing,  began driving, causing Mr. Miller to lurch toward the back of the bus. Mr. Miller hit his head on a window of the bus, and cut his hand on a metal piece.  The driver stopped the bus,  and called his supervisor, Eugenia Singleton, who came to the scene immediately. Ms. Singleton took Mr. Miller to the ER at Mission  Hospital and dropped him off. Mr. Miller received ER care and is receiving follow-up care. 

 

2.  On the morning of April 13, 2011 Jo Ann Gadson and her husband Johnnie, caught the bus on Wood Ave. (bus Route #12). Johnnie wheeled Jo Ann’s wheelchair onto the bus and the bus driver strapped the bottom bus strap onto her chair then proceeded down the route onto Fairview Road, where he stopped the bus at the sign at Fairview Ave.  Mrs. Gadson, who was in a wheel chair because she had lost a leg per diabetes, slid out of her wheelchair onto the floor because the bus driver had failed to strap her body into the bus with the second strap. Mr. Gadson and a passenger helped Mrs. Gadson back into her chair. Mrs. Gadson indicated she was alright but by the time the Gadson’s got off the bus she was in great pain. A visit to the ER at Mission Hospital revealed that her only leg was broken.  Mrs. Gadson spent 4 days in the hospital, and has been in a rehabilitation facility since – her doctors do not know when she will be released.  As soon as Mrs. Gadson fell to the floor the bus driver called his supervisor, Eugenia Singleton to adviseher of the accident.  Ms. Singleton conducted the Gadson investigation.

3. Two weeks later, on April 28th, Mr. Gadson was on the bus (Route #18) as it was speeding through the AB Tech campus. Police officers pulled the bus over and ticketed the driver with reckless driving and driving over the speed limit. The bus driver immediately called his supervisor, Eugenia Singleton, who came to the detained bus and spent about 30 minutes interviewing the passengers before the driver was permitted to continue driving the bus.