Police: Bus handbrake was not engaged when it struck woman

Yle reports that a bus involved in a fatal accident at Helsinki’s Senate Square in early June was not secured with its handbrake. An elderly woman died after the bus rolled several dozen metres onto her.

The preliminary investigation is nearing completion, according to Helsinki police.

The bus remained stationary only because its stop brake was engaged. Police said the brake was released after a built-in delay following the ignition being switched off, or when the vehicle’s battery charge fell.

Police are investigating the case as aggravated endangerment of traffic safety and aggravated causing of death by negligence. The suspect is the bus driver, who was on a break when the accident occurred.

Investigators found no mechanical fault in the bus’s service brake or handbrake.

The case will soon be referred for consideration of charges, police said.