Driver's Bus Rolls Away, Hits Apartment Building

A Metrobus crashed into an apartment building in Alexandria last night, rolling away while the driver was outside the vehicle trying to manually close its malfunctioning doors.

No one was hurt in the accident, which occurred about 5:50 p.m. in the 5400 block of Duke Street, near South Reynolds Street. The driver had emptied the bus of passengers and put it out of service because he could not close the back doors, officials said.

The driver had turned off the engine and was trying to shut the doors when the bus began to roll, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. The vehicle traveled several blocks on Duke Street during the evening rush, crossing the median before running down a 20-foot embankment and crashing into London Park Towers, a seven-story apartment building.

Half of the bus remained in the building last night, next to bricks, drywall and broken glass.

Jerry Conner, 25, a software developer whose apartment was hit, was not home at the time and his unit was unoccupied. He said he returned home about an hour after the accident.

"I didn't know what was going on until I went in and I saw the bus in my dining room," he said.

Officials did not identify the driver, a nine-year veteran. The bus was on the 21B route from the Pentagon to the Landmark Mall area.

No citations were issued. The driver was to undergo drug and alcohol testing, as is routine in accident cases, officials said. Authorities condemned the damaged section of the building, but upper floors remained open.