Latest SEPTA trolley crash was caused by off-duty employee, who allegedly blew a red light

Following a spate of major collisions involving SEPTA buses and trolleys, the transit agency said last month it would investigate its policies and staffing levels.

Then, on Sunday morning, a driver blew through a red light in a Mercedes-Benz and struck a trolley in Southwest Philadelphia, injuring four people, according to the police report of the arrest.

The driver was one of SEPTA’s own employees.

Police said they were able to identify the driver, Brianna Satchell-Thomas, by a SEPTA pay stub in the car that included her name and address.

Satchell-Thomas, 31, of King of Prussia, initially left the scene, but returned to get her purse and other belongings, with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, the arrest report states.

She told police the car wasn’t hers and she wasn’t driving it. Motor vehicle records showed that she is the owner.

Satchell-Thomas, who is described as “boisterous” in the arrest report, refused a DUI test and was uncooperative with police. She is expected to be charged with aggravated assault while driving under the influence, hindering apprehension, and other crimes, police said.

» READ MORE: SEPTA says 5th crash in a week is ‘alarming and concerning,’ plans to investigate staffing issues

The Mercedes collided with the trolley around 6:30 a.m. Sunday in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood, causing the trolley to derail and causing what SEPTA said were “minor injuries” to the trolley operator and three passengers.

“There was nothing the trolley operator could do to avoid the collision,” Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson, said on Sunday.

Satchell-Thomas could not be reached for comment Monday. Court records show she pleaded guilty last year to a summary offense of “moving a vehicle unsafely.”

SEPTA spokesperson John Golden confirmed that Satchell-Thomas is a maintenance custodian. He said she was off duty at the time of Sunday’s crash.

“She was not traveling to or from work,” Golden said.

The crash follows five other major SEPTA collisions during a single week last month. One person died and at least 25 were injured. Most recently, on July 27, and out-of-service SEPTA trolley rolled out of a trolley yard and barreled into a historic home in Southwest Philadelphia.

“There was a trolley in my living room,” the tenant and caretaker of the Blue Bell Inn told The Inquirer after the crash.

SEPTA has said there is no clear link between the incidents, but it is planning to investigate possible safety issues and get feedback from employees.

The transit agency says vehicular accidents on buses and trolleys are down this year compared to 2022: 884 in the first half of this year (between four and five per day on average), compared to 1,521 in the first half of last year.

Inquirer researcher Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.