Charter bus, trolley car collide in downtown Tampa

TAMPA — A charter bus and a TECO trolley car collided Monday morning near the Tampa Convention Center.

The driver of the charter bus appeared to be trying to turn from S Franklin Street onto Channelside Drive when it cut into the path of the trolley at about 11:15 a.m., according to Tampa police. The crash dislodged the trolley from its tracks.

Paramedics took the trolley operator to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, said Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny. The five passengers on board refused treatment.

Paramedics assessed some passengers on the tour bus, which was operated by Boice Charters, but none were seriously injured.

Paul and Mary Duchesne, in town from Long Island, N.Y. to visit friends, were sitting near the front of the streetcar when they saw the bus turning to cross the tracks.

“It was almost like a movie, like this is not going to happen,” Mary Ann Duchesne said.

The front of the trolley then struck the center left-side of the bus.

“She landed on the floor, I landed on the floor,” Paul Duchesne said. “The whole floor is buckled inside.”

Bus passengers Floyd McWilliams and Shirley Turner said they were sitting near the point of impact. McWilliams said it appeared the bus driver did not see the flashing red lights and sign that advised motorists not to turn.

“And of course those (streetcar) vehicles aren’t designed to stop very quickly so he plowed into us," McWilliams said.

The driver, whose name was not released, was cited for failing to obey a traffic control device.

The charter bus was carrying more than two dozen people from St. James the Apostle Catholic Church in Port Richey, McWilliams said. The group was headed to Port Tampa Bay to embark on a cruise. The ship was scheduled to leave at 4 p.m. and McWilliams said another bus was coming to pick them up.

Operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, the TECO trolley line runs nearly three miles between Ybor City and downtown.