SF Bus Ejects Wheelchair Man and Creates Geyser

SAN FRANCISCO — A bizarre chain of events left two people injured and a San Francisco neighborhood soaking wet when a city bus struck a fire hydrant.

It all began Sunday evening when a Muni rider was getting off a bus using its extended wheelchair lift. Muni spokesman Judson True says the customer fell from the lift and was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

As the incident was being sorted out, the bus rolled forward and the wheelchair lift sheared off a fire hydrant, sending water gushing into the air three stories high. True says the hydrant struck a Muni inspector, who was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Water from the hydrant flooded a building on the corner of Fillmore and Haight streets.

True says the bus driver has been placed on non-driving status as officials investigate the incident.