Man gravely injured after getting hit by school bus in Rancho Penasquitos ID'd
A 69-year-old man was gravely injured Tuesday when a school bus struck him as he was walking his dogs in Rancho Penasquitos, authorities reported.
The Poway Unified School District vehicle — occupied only by its 76-year-old driver — hit the pedestrian at Paseo Montalban and Via Cima Bella at about 8:30 a.m., according to the San Diego Police Department. The pedestrian was identified by his Tuesday evening as Rene Steiner.
“It was horrible. It was bad. I have never seen anything so bad before,” said good Samaritan Cheryl Hardy, who was one of the first to come to Steiner’s aid. “He was bleeding from his nose, his eyes, his mouth. He did not look good.”
Moments after the crash, an SDPD officer driving through the neighborhood east of Black Mountain Road and south of Carmel Mountain Road came upon the scene of the accident, pulled over and performed CPR on the unconscious victim.
“If it wasn’t for her, he probably wouldn’t be alive right now,” Hardy said.
Paramedics arrived a short time later, assumed the lifesaving efforts and took the man to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh said.
“The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital to be treated for a skull fracture, subdural hematoma, multiple rib fractures and a bilateral pulmonary contusion,” SDPD said in a statement. “The injuries are considered life-threatening.”
Hardy said she grabbed the pedestrian’s two dogs and took them back to his home — just two blocks from the collision. The dogs were unharmed, as was the bus driver, according to police.
It was not immediately clear who might have been at fault in the crash, which left a stretch of Paseo Montalban closed for about three hours. However, investigating officers quickly ruled out intoxicated driving as a potential factor, the sergeant said.
According to Hardy, Steiner was in the northbound direction at almost a jogging pace at the same time the bus was turning left, eastbound into his path. Based on the impression left in the windshield, she believes he was hit headfirst by the bus.
“I don’t believe the bus driver saw him,” she said. “He was shook.”
Paseo Montalban is a wide street with fast-moving traffic. The corner is a pedestrian crossing, even though there are no lines drawn. California law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians at such intersections.
“It was completely unnecessary,” Hardy said. “I think that there should be a crosswalk right there.”
Poway Unified School District confirmed the crash involved one of its school buses but declined to provide any further details amid an active investigation. The district did not clarify whether it was conducting its own investigation beyond the police department’s.
