Crime & Safety
Update: Bus Catches Fire on Highway 17
The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District bus was northbound when the driver spotted trouble.
A fire that caused a Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District bus to be evacuated along state Highway 17 in Campbell this morning may have been caused by an oil line that broke loose, according to a Santa Cruz Metro
spokesman.
The official cause has not been determined and metro officials are continuing to investigate the incident, spokesman Ciro Aguirre said.
Around 7:35 a.m., the bus was traveling in the highway's northbound lanes just south of Hamilton Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Ross Lee.
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The bus driver noticed flames coming from the back of the bus' exterior and immediately pulled and evacuated all passengers, Lee said.
7:39 #CountyFire responded 2 veh. fire n/b Hwy 17/Hamilton Ave. Bus engine on fire. Evacuated, no injuries. Extinguished 8:09. Under invest. pic.twitter.com/84DWQxuFXR
— Santa Clara Co Fire (@sccfiredept) October 10, 2016
Another bus arrived about 15 minutes later and transported the passengers to their destination. The bus was coming from Santa Cruz and was headed toward downtown San Jose, according to Aguirre.
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After the passengers had been evacuated, the fire spread, filing the interior of the bus with smoke, Lee said.
Firefighters with the Santa Clara County Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire within about 30 minutes, according to fire officials.
No injuries were reported, Lee said.
CHP officers closed two of the highway's northbound lanes while they investigated the incident.
— Bay City News; Image by Renee Schiavone, Patch
