Med School Shuttle Crashes Into Truck

Saturday was not a good first day on the job for the driver of a University-contracted M2 shuttle bus which collided with a delivery truck double-parked on Mass. Ave. east of Harvard Square.

The shuttle, which was traveling westbound, ran into the opened front door of a delivery truck outside Friendly Eating Place, 985 Mass. Ave., around 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

Witnesses said the delivery truck was double-parked with its back door open, apparently marking a delivery. The M2 shuttle moved into the other lane of traffic but did not avoid the truck.

"The door of the truck was completely crushed and pushed forward," said passenger Vandana L. Madhavan '98. "We were passing close to a truck, and all of a sudden, I heard a loud crashing noise."

The bus was transporting about 15 students between the Lamont Library gate and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. Its window's door was shattered, but no passengers were injured.

"The accident was not recklessness on anybody's part. In my opinion, it was an error in communication," said Visiting Professor of Chemistry Claude E. Wintner, who saw the crash.

Earlier Saturday, Madhavan said, the bus driver told her that it was his first day on the job.

A Cambridge Police spokesperson said the department had no record of the accident.

The M2 shuttle service is provided by MassCo, a company contracted by Harvard University. It will decide whether any internal disciplinary action will be taken against the driver, according to Peter M. Witt, general manager of shuttle and fleet management services for Harvard.