RTD Fires Driver Over Alleged Drug Use

The RTD bus driver who allegedly used cocaine before she crashed her vehicle into another RTD bus was fired Thursday.

Vivian Lee Harris, 37, of Los Angeles was the 32nd employee of the Southern California Rapid Transit District to be fired for alleged drug or alcohol usage since an expanded program of testing and counseling was put into effect last September, district spokesman Marc Littman said.

Findings of the RTD Transit Police investigation into Monday’s collision at 5th and Main streets have been handed over to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges, another RTD spokesman, Ray Garcia, said.

The accident resulted in minor or moderate injuries to more than 20 people and led to a call by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn for a program of more extensive drug testing of the RTD’s 5,000 drivers. The question will be on the agenda of the RTD board when it meets Thursday, Littman said.

‘Odd Behavior’

Currently, all bus drivers are given drug and alcohol tests during their compulsory physical every two years, Littman said. They are also tested if they are found with drugs or alcohol while on the job, if they are involved in an accident that results in injuries or causes more than $2,000 in damage or if they are involved in a fight or display “odd behavior,” he said.

If testing of a driver after a serious accident uncovers the use of cocaine, heroin or PCP, the employee is automatically fired, Littman said.

Since last September, 32 RTD employees--about half of whom were drivers--have been dismissed because of alleged drug or alcohol use, he added. The RTD has about 8,500 employees.

Meanwhile, in another accident Thursday, an RTD bus driver ran a red light at 11th and Hill streets downtown and collided with a car, resulting in minor injuries to the car’s occupants, police reported. The bus driver and his three passengers were not hurt. Since both the injuries and damage to the two vehicles were minor, the RTD driver involved will not be tested for drugs, Littman said.

Lost Control

In a non-RTD minibus accident, a rental car agency shuttle driver was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, after she lost control of her bus and careened down Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport, striking 15 other vehicles and injuring 24 people, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

The Alamo Rent-a-Car vehicle, driven by Pamela Quijada, 29, of Los Angeles, roared down the wide access street to the airport at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, leaving damaged cars scattered for a distance of half a mile.

Quijada, who suffered minor facial cuts, is suspected of smoking marijuana during a break in her shuttle route, officers said.