Timeline: San Francisco Muni driver falls asleep with train packed with passengers
Timeline: San Francisco Muni driver falls asleep with train packed with passengers
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency driver apparently fell asleep while operating a train packed with passengers. The N Judah light rail was traveling through Sunset Tunnel toward downtown when the driver dozed off on Sept. 24, video obtained by NewsNation local affiliate KRON shows.
As the Muni train reached a curve near Duboce Park, it was speeding at 50 mph, missed its stop, and passengers fell on each other from sudden jolting movements, according to SFMTA officials and the video. The driver was jostled awake by the train’s lurching movements, video shows.
The train halted on Duboce Avenue and the driver spoked to alarmed passengers. One passenger, a 14-year-old Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory student, said the train operator’s behavior after the incident was “strange.”
“She comes out of her booth, and then she starts telling me, ‘You’re OK, you’re OK.’ I’m like standing there crying. I’m freaking out, because I thought I was gonna die just now. It seems as though she was raising her voice at me. She was waving her hands around. It was strange,” the student told the San Francisco Standard.
A 16-minute-long video was recorded inside the train by multiple SFMTA cameras on September 24. (Parts of the video can be viewed in the video player above).
SFMTA Train Incident Timeline:
8:34 a.m.: The Muni driver is slumped over the train’s control panel with her head down while passengers board the train. Most seats are already filled, so passengers stand shoulder-to-shoulder to fit inside. The Sacred Heart student saw the operator “put her head down on top of the control panel, slumped down,” she told the Standard.
Thirty second later, the driver sits back up in her seat, pushes a button to close the doors, and activates the train to continue on its route.
8:35 a.m.: The driver appears to get sleepy again as the train approaches Sunset Tunnel slowly traveling 6 mph, according to the video. An automatic message plays on the train’s loudspeakers announcing that the next stop will be at Duboce Avenue and Noe Street.
8:36 a.m.: Passengers stare at their phones, unbothered, as the train travels through the tunnel and accelerates from 15 mph to 40 mph. The driver appears to be dozing off with her eyes closed and head down, video shows.
8:37 a.m.: The train reaches speeds of 50 mph and jolts as it exits the tunnel onto a busy city street where cars are also traveling. Video shows the driver becoming alert the same moment that passengers loose their footing from sudden jolting movements. “Several passengers were jostled and fell due to the sudden motion,” SFMTA officials wrote.
Passengers fall and react to sudden train movements.
The train narrowly misses striking a car, passes its stop at Duboce Avenue and Noe Street, and halts on the tracks, video shows.
8:38 a.m.: The driver stands up to talk to frightened passengers. In the video, the driver can be heard telling passengers, “I’m sorry. Relax, relax, relax. We didn’t crash. Relax, relax. It wouldn’t stop. Relax. We’re OK. It just wouldn’t stop. It would not stop.”
The driver tells passengers that the train’s brakes were not operating correctly. As soon as the train doors open, dozens of scared passengers pour out.
Passengers walk to their destinations, rather than continue riding on the troubled train.
8:43 a.m.: When SFMTA inspectors arrive, the driver admits that she was also scared. “It was going fast, I couldn’t stop,” she said. “I’m still shaking.” The driver tells inspectors that she attempted to slow the train down by hitting the brakes, but it continued accelerating.
Nov. 10: SFMTA officials announced they completed an investigation into the incident, and confirmed it was caused by “operator fatigue.” A full inspection of the train’s braking system found that it performed correctly as designed, transit officials said. Inspections of the trackway and related infrastructure found zero mechanical and systems problems.
The train did not derail during the incident, according to SFMTA officials.
After the close-call, the train operator was removed from her driving duties, and she is currently on “non-driving status” for her job at the transit agency, SFMTA officials told KRON4.
SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum said Monday, “Safety is always our top priority. We are committed to accountability in response to this specific unacceptable incident and we are taking all necessary steps to keep Muni safe and reliable for all riders and the public.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
