Passenger Trains > Amtrak bus driver dies after medical emergency on CA freeway

NOTE: The involved driver isn't an Amtrak employee, but worked for a contract bus company.
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Amtrak bus driver dies after medical emergency on California freeway

KTXL
by Matthew Nobert
2/21/2024
 
Passengers on an Amtrak bus that was traveling through the Sierra Nevada were given a serious fright as their bus driver had a medical emergency and eventually died on Wednesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol Truckee station.
 
The agency said the bus was traveling westbound on Interstate 80 near Donner Pass Road when riders reported the medical emergency around 9:11 a.m.
 
The CHP said the driver was able to pull the bus over without any injuries being caused to the passengers.
 
Medical personnel who responded took the driver to Tahoe Forest Hospital, where the driver was later pronounced dead. The cause of the driver’s death is unknown at this time.
 
The CHP said that Amtrak sent a bus to retrieve the passengers. It is unclear where the original bus departed or what its destination was.
 
Amtrak operates passenger train service across the United States, as well as buses that transport passengers to additional stops that cannot be reached by train or when train service is unavailable along the regular train routes.
 
https://fox40.com/news/california-connection/amtrak-bus-driver-dies-after-medical-emergency-on-california-freeway/

Sad, condolences to the drivers family. That would be tough on the passengers.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

He had it in him to safely pull over and protect his passengers, despite experiencing his medical emergency.  In his own way, despite the sadness of his death, the man is a hero.   Imagine what COULD have happened otherwise....

God bless him.

Second what coach said. Sad to lose such a decent person.

That driver was a good friend of mine, and we were supposed to switch off the run on Wednesday/Thursday. He will be sorely missed.

Stephen Hjellum
Woodland, CA
Virtual CRCP Railway.

Rip... sad

Posted from Android

YSLR131 Wrote:
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> That driver was a good friend of mine, and we were
> supposed to switch off the run on
> Wednesday/Thursday. He will be sorely missed.

Sorry for your loss :(

Posted from Android

YSLR131 Wrote:
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> That driver was a good friend of mine, and we were
> supposed to switch off the run on
> Wednesday/Thursday. He will be sorely missed.

So sorry, Stephen, to hear of your friend’s tragic passing. We lost one of Conductors recently who had a medical emergency driving to work, and also managed to pull his vehicle over safely. Very heavy hearts, here.
I may know your friend since I’ve ridden many of the CA thruway bus routes and know a lot of the drivers; ironically one even showed me how to downshift the bus on a heavy grade and bring her to a stop in case he or another driver became incapacitated. As others said, your friend was a hero to safely pull over and stop his bus saving his passengers. My sincere condolences to you and your friend’s family and friends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/24 11:28 by IC_2024.

Very sad story. Yes, the driver was a hero for getting the bus off the road and avoiding a serious accident.

Posted from iPhone

BrynMawr Wrote:
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> Second what coach said. Sad to lose such a decent
> person.

I 3RD that, that would've been worse traveling on of the top busiest truck routes the country, sad to hear this though!