Identity of woman struck, killed by Santa Barbara city bus released

Authorities have released the name of a woman who was killed in an accident involving an MTD bus in downtown Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says 67-year-old Eve Debra Johnson was killed when she was struck by a bus that drove onto the sidewalk around 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Chapala Street and W. Figueroa Street.

The area where the crash happened near MTD’s temporary transit center.

Witnesses told police that the bus was traveling north on Chapala Street before making a right turn onto Figueroa. For reasons that have yet to be determined, the bus continued turning, driving up onto the red sidewalk curb hitting the two people before coming to stop inside a city parking lot.

Police spoke to more than 20 witnesses and interviewed the driver of the bus.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

KEYT 2019