Report: Driver of Hermann trolley claims pothole caused crash
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Missouri State Highway Report crash report gives a possible reason for why a trolley holding more than 40 people crashed in May in Gasconade County.
On Saturday, May 3, a trolley bus carrying 41 passengers veered off the road, injuring 32 people. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred near Eagles Nest Drive at 10:45 a.m. after the driver — a 45-year-old Hermann man — overcorrected after leaving the right side of the road, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch, according to previous reporting.
The driver allegedly told authorities that he hit a pothole, causing him to veer to the right, the report says. The driver also allegedly said that a rear tire went off the roadway, and he steered the trolley to the left to save it, causing him to overcorrect and travel off the left side of the road, the report says.
Multiple passengers in the report claimed the driver was speeding.