In Ohio, an RTA accident review committee investigated after a deadly wreck involving a bus and a pedestrian. The committee determined that the crash was avoidable and could have been prevented.
As of the last reports, the driver had not been arrested or handed criminal charges. However, though the driver was first merely suspended from her job, she was later terminated entirely by the RTA.
The accident happened at about 7:30 in the morning on Dec. 7. A 69-year-old woman was near Key Tower, attempting to cross the street. The bus was coming down East Roadway, and it then turned left to drive down Rockwell Avenue. In the course of that turn, the woman was hit. Emergency crews quickly brought her to MetroHealth, but she passed away on Dec. 29.
In the review committee’s determination, the driver merely slowed down before making the turn, but she did not completely stop the vehicle.
Charges are still possible for the driver. The case will go in front of a grand jury, according to the Cleveland city prosecutor’s office, which already carried out the review and recommended that the grand jury be used. When police were asked, though, they did not believe an official date for a hearing was in place.
After fatal accidents, it’s sometimes possible for the families of those who are killed to seek financial compensation. This can be true even in cases where criminal charges are not filed. That being said, the decisions made by investigative bodies and grand juries certainly can help support a civil case by showing fault.
Source: Cleveland.com, “RTA committee: Fatal bus crash on Public Square was preventable,” Courtney Astolfi, Jan. 28, 2017