Memphis, TN (abc24.com) - The Memphis Area Transit Authority is investigating after a recent crash sent five people to the hospital. Video obtained by abc24.com from inside that bus is raising serious questions about how many people were actually hurt.
The accident happened on the afternoon of September 16, 2011. According to a Memphis Police Department report, an MLGW truck clipped the back of the bus.
"He gave us a great shove, great push, when he impacted the bus," said Henry Degraffenreid, who was aboard the bus that day.
In surveillance video obtained by abc24.com, a man can be seen riding up to the accident scene on Jackson Avenue on his red bike. The man, dressed in a blue polo shirt and white hat, walks around the outside of the bus. Then, with cameras rolling inside the bus, the man puts his bike on a bike rack on the front of the bus, then gets on the bus.
"Don't know if a claim has been filed yet, but we do know this person as you can tell, was not a passenger on the bus when the accident occurred," said William Hudson, the president of MATA.
This isn't the first time MATA has dealt with possible fraud after an accident. In June 2011, MATA workers reported seeing several people board two trolley's after they were involved in a crash in Downtown Memphis.
"There is always a possibility of somebody trying to get something for nothing," Hudson told abc24.com.
Hudson said MATA has improved procedures, driver training and video surveillance to combat this type of fraud.
