2 Pedestrians Hit, Injured by RTD Bus

A 66-year-old woman was in serious condition and facing surgery in an effort to save her right foot after she was struck by a Southern California Rapid Transit District bus in downtown Los Angeles, a County-USC Medical Center spokeswoman said.

Police said Louise Moore was walking across Spring Street, between 6th and 7th streets, with J.D. Benmorn, 58, about 5 p.m. Monday when they were hit by the southbound bus that had swung into the northbound bus-only lane.

Moore was struck by the bus windshield and fell with her foot under the wheels, Police Officer William Jessup said. Benmorn was treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises.

An RTD spokesman pointed out that the bus lane is not currently in use because of a city street repair project and that driver Dale Aleshire, 46, may have swung into it momentarily to avoid traffic. Aleshire passed a field sobriety test, Jessup said.