Shed

FACTS

Shed took an OCTA bus to Fullerton. At her stop, Shed and other riders prepared to disembark at the front of the bus, while people waited on the sidewalk to embark. One of the bus’s passengers was in a wheelchair. As Shed was walking toward the bus’s front exit, she heard a beeping noise and a buzzer that said something like “wheelchair assistance.” She believed the beeping noise indicated the bus was being lowered to allow people to embark. Actually, the beeping noise was for the opening wheelchair ramp, which had been activated by the bus’s driver.1 As Shed approached the bus’s front exit, she turned to the driver and said, “thank you.” She did not see the wheelchair ramp opening. Shed’s right foot went between the ramp’s two metal plates. Apparently unaware of this, Shed continued

We have reviewed a video of the incident recorded from the bus’s interior. In the video, it appears the wheelchair ramp is one metal plate hinged to another, with the hinge near the bus’s door. Unless the wheelchair ramp is engaged, the two metal plates lie on top of one another and there is no gap between them. Once activated, the top metal plate lifts up, travels 180 degrees,…