No one was injured Friday when a GoBus collided with Ohio University President Roderick McDavis’ car near Clippinger Laboratories.
The bus was driving northbound on University Terrace at about 5:20 p.m. when it traveled left of the center of the road around a curve, according to a report from the OU Police Department. The bus struck the driver’s side of McDavis’ 2007 black Lexus, which was travelling in the opposite direction and had stopped in its lane.
Photos taken at the scene show scratches along the driver’s side of the Lexus, and the rear bumper appears to be partially disconnected from the vehicle.
“I am very grateful that no one was injured when a GoBus struck my vehicle last Friday,” McDavis said in a statement. “I commend Chief (Andrew) Powers and (OUPD) for their quick, thorough response.”
The driver of the bus, Brian Baxter, 50, of Newport, Ky., was faulted for the crash and cited for a marked lanes violation, according to an email from OU Police Chief Andrew Powers.
Lakefront Lines, of Brook Park, Ohio, is the company that owns and operates GoBus.
“The driver of the GoBus stated he was lost and off the designated route, looking for the bus stop,” Powers said in the email. “The bus caused disabling damage to President McDavis’ vehicle, which was removed from the scene on a rollback tow truck.”
The GoBus provides transportation between Athens, Columbus, Cincinnati, Marietta and Parkersburg, according to its website. The Federal Transit Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation started the service. Athens used funding from these organizations as well as federal stimulus money to begin running the bus routes and to purchase three new “deluxe” buses. Ticket prices range from $5 to $10.
pe219007@ohiou.edu
