Cable Car Accident Injures 7 In San Francisco

San Francisco, CA – Seven people were injured when a cable car came to an abrupt stop on Nob Hill.

A spokesperson for the Fire Department told the Los Angeles Times that five of the people were taken to an area hospital for treatment following the accident. At least one individual was suffering from life-threatening injuries at the time.

Authorities believe that some sort of metal object in the cable groove caused the car to come to an unexpected stop. Around 40 people were inside the vehicle at the time of the accident. Police said one individual was thrown from the car in the process.

Although the cars are supposed to have an alarm system in place to warn them of possible obstructions, no alerts went off prior to accident. Officials said another cable car safely passed through the area earlier in the day.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the conductor and the grip operator were among the people who were injured during the incident. The grip operator suffered injuries to his hands and ribs when he fell on the grip. The conductor is said to have severely bitten his tongue when the cable car came to an abrupt stop.

According to NBC Bay Area, the cable car was being looked over by maintenance workers earlier in the day. However, the website reports that San Francisco officials decided to tow the car away from the scene of the accident around noon.

Although traffic through the area was temporarily shut down in order to move the car safely off the street, things were seemingly back to normal later in the afternoon.

Authorities are currently looking in to where the metal bolt in question came from. It’s currently believed that the object didn’t come from another car. An investigation into the cable car accident is underway.

[Image by Wikimedia Commons]