The DTA Is Determined To Take Action After Two Incidents Involving Injuries And A Death

The Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) has stated that they are taking the necessary steps to assure that they can avoid future incidents like two accidents that happened this Summer involving injury and recently the death of a pedestrian. The first incident happened this past August where two pedestrians were hit by a DTA bus, both suffering minor injuries. The second incident happened September 10 when a bus hit and killed a pedestrian at The Miller Hill Mall.

The man who was killed at the Mall was 64 David Weson who was hit by the bus by Dicks Sporting Goods at The Miller Hill Mall.  A woman named Rose Abramowski started A Go Fund Me Page in Weson's memory, he was a dear friend to many people who worked at the Miller Hill Mall.

General Manager Rod Fournier with the DTA said to CBS3:

[For] everybody here at the DTA, it’s a very sad day. This is the worst thing that can happen when you’re in transit, and the entire staff feels that way. Adding their drivers are always put through rigorous week-long training programs to prepare them for any and all situations on the road.

Fournier said that they have spoken company wide about the incident at the Mall in hopes of preparing drivers from any incident like this from ever happening in the future. And as tragic as accidents like this are it is an opportunity for the DTA to learn and improve.  Fournier said " The DTA has, on average, less than one preventable collision per 100,000 miles. and the organization travels more than two million miles each year."

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The driver from the August incident had worked for the DTA for the past 15 years and is no longer with the company. The driver involved in the incident last Friday is currently on administrative leave as an investigation is still underway with the DTA and local authorities. That driver has been with the DTA for the last 3 years.

This is such a tragic situation, but it is so heartwarming to see people from the community come together to honor a man in the community who touched so many peoples lives. And hopefully accidents like this will not happen again.