PITTSBURGH — The husband of the bus driver whose Port Authority bus crashed on 279 and rolled onto Evergreen earlier this week talked to Channel 11 Thursday.
"At first I thought, 'It's a bus. How bad could the accident be?' My daughter called crying and upset and said, 'Did you see the accident?' I saw it and panicked," said Ron Maier.
Julie Maier's bus accident left the 28-year veteran bus driver and 14-year veteran with PAT in critical condition.
Maier suffered a fractured pelvis and other bone injuries and had a collapsed lung.
PAT officials said video shows the bus drivers involved were reckless and speeding.
Attorney Joel Sansone said that claim is absurd.
"Julie Maier is a victim in this matter. She is guilty of nothing. She is a professional driver who tried to control a vehicle which was in a catastrophic failure," he said.
Sansone said he will use a specialized team to examine the bus for brake failure.
"It appears this was just an accident," said the other bus driver's attorney, Bruce Carcia.
Agency spokesman Jim Ritchie said the drivers could be fired if investigators confirm that their "joking" and "reckless" behavior caused the crash.
Stephen Palonis, president of Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said he saw no reckless driving and thinks the drivers merely waved to each other. He said a mechanical issue could be to blame for the crash.
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