Woman hit by Metro Transit bus dies

By Abby Simons and Dee DePass, Star Tribune

Last update: October 18, 2009 - 12:01 AM

A woman struck by a Metro Transit bus Friday morning in south Minneapolis died from her injuries, hospital officials confirmed Saturday evening.

Posts from relatives and friends on her Facebook page indicated Rebecca Cruzen, 43, of Minneapolis died Friday evening at Hennepin County Medical Center. "Your light will shine forever, and will be missed by so many people! Rest in peace, Becky!" one post read.

She was officially pronounced dead Friday at 7:45 p.m., but was kept on life support until her organs could be donated in accordance with the family's wishes, according to an investigator in the medical examiner's office.

The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m. Friday as a Route 46 bus pulled into a station near the 46th Street light-rail platform. According to Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons, Cruzen was on the sidewalk and crossing the driveway of the bus station when the eastbound bus made a left turn into the station and hit her.

The bus driver, who has been with Metro Transit less than eight years, was to undergo drug and alcohol testing, standard procedure in such cases, Gibbons said.

Authorities hoped footage from video cameras on the bus, on other buses parked at the station and possibly from the nearby light-rail platform would aid them in the investigation. A State Patrol team that examines commercial vehicles was sent to the scene to check the bus' brakes and other equipment to determine whether they were in proper working order.

Route 46 is a crosstown route, traveling from Edina through south Minneapolis and on to St. Paul via the Ford Parkway Bridge.

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