CEDAR PARK, Texas -- After a Capital Metro bus's engine caught on fire and leaked diesel fuel onto the roadway Tuesday, closing the U.S. 183A northbound tollway, Capital Metro's president has pulled every bus from that model series off the road.
In addition to pulling the 28 buses, CapMetro President and CEO Randy Clarke said the agency is conducting an in-depth review. CapMetro says the busses pulled will not disrupt services. By 4 p.m. Tuesday, all but three of the 28 buses had been inspected and cleared.
According to James Mallinger, the Cedar Park Fire Chief, the call for the vehicle fire came in just before 6:30 a.m. at Scottsdale just south of New Hope Drive. Mallinger said two fire units used about a thousand gallons of water to extinguish the flames in the engine of the bus.
No one was on board the bus at the time of the fire except for the driver, and he or she is OK, officials said.
According to Cedar Park Fire, the bus was leaking diesel fuel while it was driving and when it caught on fire. Mallinger said the fuel leaked down the tollway and into a nearby retention pond, located at New Hope Drive and the 183A tollway. However, there were no environmental issues with the leak, Mallinger added.
CapMetro hired a cleanup crew for the spillage, according to Mallinger. Cedar Park police were rerouting northbound traffic on 183A to the exit at FM-1431 before the accident was cleaned up. But at 11:30 a.m., CapMetro said 183A was reopened for northbound traffic.
On Friday, July 27, nine people were taken to a hospital after they were involved in a CapMetro bus crash.
Clarke, CapMetro's CEO, apologized for Friday's incident and Tuesday's incident.
"The crash on Friday and mechanical failure this morning affected our customers and other roadway users," Clarke said. "We apologize for the disruption and inconvenience."