Detroit Bus Crashes After Driver Falls Asleep

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 03-08-2015, 11:46 AM

A nearly empty SMART bus travels uneventfully westbound along Maple Road in West Bloomfield in October.

But that quiet ride turns to chaos in an instant as the bus smashes into a series of vehicles and slides along a guardrail as smoke pours behind it.

The bus driver frantically tries to regain control, the windshield cracking and then falling out and the lone elderly passenger struggling to keep her seat.

The harrowing ride was captured in numerous videos from the bus of the Oct. 20 crash between Inkster and Middle Belt roads that involved eight vehicles.

The driver, who could be heard on the videos saying he must have dozed off, can be seen nearly standing up, possibly pressing down on the brake or what he believed to be the brake, as the crash unfolds.

"I woke up, and I say, 'I'm gonna hit that car,' " the driver told police later.

But the driver, 65-year-old Leon Yusuf Rasheed, who had been with the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation for about 11 years, was apparently not braking initially.

" 'Why won't this bus stop?' " And then I realized, 'You hittin' the accelerator,' " Rasheed told police, according to a police report.

The crash left a Bloomfield Township couple with serious injuries, and Rasheed has been charged with a misdemeanor — a moving violation causing serious impairment of body function — that carries a possible 93-day jail sentence.

He was arraigned Wednesday via video in 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills before Magistrate Peter Mansour, who set bail at 10% of $10,000.

Rasheed, who retired from SMART in December, was also ordered not to have contact with the injured couple.

Rasheed said he was remorseful as he walked to his car outside of the West Bloomfield Police Department after the arraignment.

"I'm sorry (for) what happened. I apologize to the people I had the accident with," Rasheed said. "They have my sympathies. I pray for them every day. I wish them well."

Rasheed expressed concern on the video as well, asking his passenger, who was not hurt, if she was OK as she moved quickly to exit the bus after the crash.

West Bloomfield Police Detective Lt. Curt Lawson said the investigation had taken more than four months because of its complexity, with the scene stretching approximately one-half mile.

Police obtained search warrants so they could inspect the bus — determining that there were no mechanical issues — as well as hospital records.

Rasheed was not found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but he "made some statements about working long hours and numerous days in a row," according to the police report.