7 hurt when Fort Worth T bus gets stuck under West Lancaster bridge

Seven passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries Thursday after a Fort Worth T bus got stuck under a bridge in the Cultural District at Foch Street and West Lancaster Avenue.

Signs on both sides of the old bridge near Farrington Field parking lots warn of its 9-foot clearance. City buses need clearance of 11 to 13 feet, said Shawn Donaghy, a T vice president.

The bus, which was southbound in the 1100 block of Foch Street, had about 20 passengers.

Firefighters responded about 12:30 p.m. to the 911 call. Scraping the bottom of the bridge damaged the top of the bus and caused a leak of the compressed natural gas that the bus runs on. The firefighters closed West Lancaster from the Trinity River to Currie Street while containing the leak. They deflated the bus’ tires to remove it from under the bridge.

Later Thursday afternoon, a T spokeswoman said officials don’t know why the bus driver tried to go under the bridge. The answer to that will be part of an internal investigation that will incorporate accident reports from Fort Worth police and fire departments, she said.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 2:37 PM with the headline "7 hurt when Fort Worth T bus gets stuck under West Lancaster bridge."