A sleepy San Francisco train operator was jolted awake when the empty train they were operating slammed into another train after the operator dozed off at the controls, according to newly released footage.
The collision happened on the morning of July 31 near 47th Avenue and Wawona Street, just north of the San Francisco Zoo, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency confirmed. Both trains were out of service and laying over between scheduled runs, leaving them completely empty of passengers when the impact occurred.
The video, first obtained by NorCal Bodycam, captures the operator nodding off moments before the empty train slams into another, shattering both windshields. The jolt instantly snaps the operator awake.
An investigation by the SFMTA is ongoing, though the agency has already ruled out vehicle and infrastructure issues as contributing factors.
“This type of incident is simply unacceptable. While the formal investigation of the collision is ongoing, vehicle and infrastructure issues have been ruled out, and the initial determination for the incident is operator error caused by fatigue,” the SFMTA said in a statement reported.
The July 31 crash marks at least the second time a San Francisco train operator has apparently fallen asleep at the controls, prompting renewed scrutiny of operator fatigue protocols within the agency.
In the viral moment that preceded this latest incident, a female operator was captured on video slumped over in her chair when a packed train hit a turn hard, accelerating out of a curve. The fast turn threw riders to the side, with many flung to the floor. “I wanna get off!” one terrified woman wailed in the video, while another yelled, “Oh my God!” The jolt also woke the driver, who was seen rushing to get control and bring the train to a halt. She then addressed the terrified passengers, repeatedly telling them to “relax.” The transport agency formally determined operator fatigue was the primary cause of that collision.
Following that earlier incident, the SFMTA launched a systemwide fatigue-awareness education campaign. The program was designed to train transit operators on recognizing early signs of exhaustion, managing sleep schedules, and preventing similar human-error incidents across the city’s rail network.
The recurrence of operator fatigue as a cause of collision raises questions about the effectiveness of that campaign, though the agency has not publicly addressed whether the operator in the July 31 incident had participated in the training.
The SFMTA has not announced any additional policy changes in response to the latest crash, and the operator involved has not been publicly identified.