Philadelphia, PA — February 3, 2025, one person was injured in a bus accident at about 9:45 p.m. near the intersection of Sansom and 13th streets.
Authorities said a 23-year-old man was sleeping on the curb when he was hit by an unknown bus. The driver did not stop after the impact.
The man, whose name has not been made public at this time, was hospitalized in critical condition, according to authorities.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the crash, as they are working to identify the bus involved. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When a pedestrian is struck by a bus, the immediate question is how did the driver not see them? That question becomes even more pressing when the driver leaves the scene. While people may assume this was simply a hit-and-run, my experience tells me that there are several possible explanations that need to be considered.
One major issue is whether the driver even realized they hit someone. Buses are large vehicles with significant blind spots, especially near the wheels. If the pedestrian was lying on the curb, he may have been in an area where the driver had limited visibility. However, that doesn’t mean the driver bears no responsibility. Professional drivers are trained to check their surroundings carefully, and investigators should determine whether the bus had side-view cameras or sensors that could have alerted the driver.
Another key factor is what conditions were like at the time of the crash. This happened at 9:45 p.m., so visibility may have been a challenge. Was the area well-lit? Was the pedestrian in a place where they could have been mistaken for debris? These are important questions when determining whether the driver should have seen them.
The fact that the bus didn’t stop also raises questions about whether the driver was distracted or impaired. If they were looking at a phone, fatigued from a long shift or simply not paying attention, that could explain why they failed to notice the impact. Investigators should review surveillance footage, GPS tracking and driver logs to determine who was behind the wheel and whether they were fit to drive.
At this stage, we don’t have enough details to say exactly how this happened. But what is clear is that a full investigation is needed to determine why the driver didn’t see the pedestrian and why they left the scene. If authorities don’t closely examine visibility, driver awareness, and available technology, they may miss key details that explain this incident.
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