Bus Driver Charged With Drunk Driving

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus driver who allegedly was driving drunk crashed into a car and then ran away after police arrived, authorities said yesterday.

Bus driver John McGurn later showed up at an MBTA bus garage in Charlestown, where he was cited for driving while under the influence and given blood and alcohol tests.

The accident occurred about 9:20 p.m. Saturday when the No. 64 bus McGurn was driving crashed into the back of a car on Western Avenue, police said.

That car was pushed into the car in front of it, and three people received minor injuries, police said.

Police were called to the scene but McGurn somehow managed to leave the scene while police were checking the injured, authorities said.

McGurn showed up at the bus garage about 1:30 a.m. yesterday. He was cited for leaving the scene of an accident, causing personal injury, operating under the influence and operating to endanger, police said.

Jim Ball, an MBTA spokesperson, said McGurn had been suspended without pay. He said a disciplinary hearing had been scheduled for today.

"We're treating this very seriously," Ball said. "If this person was indeed under the influence, we're very concerned."

Ball said McGurn, whose hometown and age weren't immediately available, had been a bus driver for the MBTA about three years and had no previous problems.

Lucia and Maria Lopes, both of Cambridge, were in the car hit by McGurn's bus, authorities said. They were taken to Cambridge City Hospital, where they were treated and released, Ball said.

Camilla Potter, who was in the second car hit, was treated at Mt. Auburn Hospital and released, Ball said.