Woman who fell trying get on bus dies from her injuries

By JANE MEINHARDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

A Clearwater woman whose arm was amputated after she fell under a bus last week has died.

Ruth Martens, 57, of 123 S McMullen Booth Road, died Monday night at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, according to police and hospital officials. She was injured Thursday in a freak accident involving a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus at Clearwater Mall.

The accident happened about 6:15 a.m. as the bus dropped off passengers near the food court at Clearwater Mall, police Sgt. Doug Griffith said. Martens tried to catch the bus as it was moving.

"She was trying to knock on the side of the bus," Griffith said. "She tripped or slipped and fell. The bus ran over her."

Martens fell on her back, he said, and the rear wheels of the bus ran over her, injuring her right arm so severely that it was amputated at the hospital. She had been in critical condition at Bayfront.

The PSTA bus' destination and the name of the driver were unavailable. Griffith said the driver was not cited, but the investigation is continuing.

It was unclear Tuesday how many accidents involving PSTA buses and pedestrians have been fatal. In 1996, a 63-year-old woman was hit by a bus near Williams Park in St. Petersburg and died at the scene. The driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Roger Sweeney, the transit authority's executive director, could not be reached Tuesday.

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