Action News talks to SEPTA management after 3 collisions around Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In the past several days in Philadelphia, three separate vehicle crashes have involved SEPTA.

Last Friday, a bus crash resulted in one person dying on Roosevelt Boulevard.

On Sunday, another bus crash caused injuries in the city's Fishtown neighborhood.

Then on Monday, two trolleys collided in Upper Darby, Delaware County.

A string of SEPTA crashes involving trolleys and buses has management at the transportation agency adding more training in the weeks ahead.

Actions News Investigate Reporter Chad Pradelli had a chance to sit down with SEPTA's new Chief Safety Officer Ronald Keele to discuss the issue.

What management at SEPTA said concerns them with these crashes is that in one, a SEPTA driver crashed into a fellow SEPTA driver.

READ | 72-year-old passenger dies after SEPTA buses crash in Philadelphia; at least 19 others injured

In that crash, a SEPTA bus struck another SEPTA bus, and 19 people walked away injured.

One passenger, 72-year-old Siu Nam Mak, died in the collision.

During the second SEPTA-involved crash a bus crashed into an electrical box, and in Delaware County, a trolley slammed into another trolley which injured seven people.

"Like I said, we take it seriously here. So the one thing just because you know, it doesn't happen every day, we still look at safety every day," said Keele. "We try to prevent these from happening. But like everything else, things do occur."

Keele has over 20 years of experience in mass transit safety, including time spent in Washington D.C., Atlanta, and as a consultant.

He said the two SEPTA-on-SEPTA crashes bring the total to eight this year, more than the six recorded in 2022 and the five recorded in 2021.

SEPTA is now adding extra training to prevent more injuries and improve safety. The investigation into the recent collisions is ongoing.

"We look at all the procedures, we look at the equipment itself, we look at the operators' background," said Keele. "So we look at everything from A through Z."

Local 234 and Local 1594, which handle bus and suburban troller drivers, had no comment to Action News.

"My message is we are safe, we do everything we can to keep things safe," said Keele.

SEPTA also told Action News the preliminary investigation will take about a week.

Any possible discipline could take much longer as unions and management work it out, officials say.