The UC Santa Cruz Police Department has concluded its investigation of the Dec. 12, 2023, bus crash that resulted in the death of TAPS driver Dan Stevenson and moderate to severe injuries to the five students on board.
In 2021, Mr. Stevenson was hired by UC Santa Cruz after driving for Santa Cruz METRO for 22 years, serving riders throughout the greater Santa Cruz community. Mr. Stevenson’s commercial driver’s license and medical certificate were valid at the time of the crash.
On the day of the crash, Mr. Stevenson made several loops without incident and could be seen on video less than a minute before the crash with the bus’s lights, brakes, and steering working as the bus made a right turn onto Coolidge Drive from Hagar Drive. The bus entered a sweeping left-hand curve on Coolidge Drive just past Ranch View Road toward the campus entrance. For an unknown reason, the bus veered off the right roadway edge where it collided with signposts, fencing, and the rock wall of a lime kiln, where it came to a stop.
The crash investigation was conducted by the UCSC Police Department with assistance from California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) Coastal Division Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). Specifically, CHP’s Coastal Division MAIT conducted a thorough mechanical inspection of the bus throttle operation, power-train, tires and wheels, suspension and the air brake system and found no evidence of any damage or defect that would have contributed to the cause of the crash. Additionally, the bus passed a regular CHP inspection 90 days before the crash and underwent service Dec. 9, when the brakes were adjusted and the brake pads were replaced.
Absent any mechanical cause or direct evidence of any distraction, the investigation concluded that Mr. Stevenson failed to input sufficient steering to negotiate the left-hand curve resulting in the crash.
Kevin Domby, Chief
UC Santa Cruz Police Department
