MTA Bus Driver arrested after pedestrian struck and killed.

[peacemak3r]

 

 

 

 

Updated 22 mins ago

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WABC) --

Police said the New York City bus hit and killed a man on a Brooklyn street, and the bus driver has been arrested.

 

The MTA said bus #4228 on the B44 line was making a left turn at Farragut Road and New York Avenue in the East Flatbush section at about 6 p.m. Tuesday when it struck a man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

On Wednesday the 57-year-old driver was arrested on a charge of failing to yield, said police. He's awaiting arraignment, and his lawyer's name isn't immediately available.

 

Police said the bus was making a turn from Farragut Road onto New York Avenue when it hit 78-year Jean Bonne-Annee. He died at the scene.

 

There's no immediate information from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the driver's status.

 

Source: http://7online.com/news/driver-arrested-after-pedestrian-struck-and-killed-by-bus-in-flatbush/448685/

[46Dover]

how many bus operators have you heard of being arrested for hitting someone? I attended an accident as a AAR supervisor some years back and that didn't happen to our driver even though it was a pedestrian strike. There is protocol with DOT incidents that the driver involved would have to go through (ie mandatory drug testing)

[biGC323232]

That's Horrible.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

how many bus operators have you heard of being arrested for hitting someone? I attended an accident as a AAR supervisor some years back and that didn't happen to our driver even though it was a pedestrian strike. There is protocol with DOT incidents that the driver involved would have to go through (ie mandatory drug testing)

I think there is more to this story than we've heard...

[MysteriousBtrain]

I think there is more to this story than we've heard...

In that case, I wonder what is the REAL or FULL reason he got arrested, because I seen a car not yielding and hitting someone, yet I still see the same car and person the next day, looking unaffected by his mistake.

[QM1to6Ave]

Yeah, that's pretty unusual. Did he try to leave the scene of the accident or something? Maybe failed the drug trest?

[161 New York]

That is terrible, both for the loss of life and arresting a B/O for what probably was a tragic accident.

 

It doesn't appear that he went to jail or anything as there is no record of him at DOC.

 

More information from NY Post.

 

MTA drivers halt service after colleague charged in bus accident

 

MTA bus drivers in Brooklyn refused to drive out of bus depots early Wednesday in protest of a fellow driver who was arrested for fatally striking a pedestrian, sources told the Post.

"The conditions were poor. It’s a very difficult left turn,” said a source.

Prescott remained on scene, and Bonne-Annee was pronounced dead by EMS, officials said. He was steps from his home.

“The operator broke down and cried. It really hurt him,” the source said.

Prescott was arrested shortly after as his wife watched on, MTA sources said. He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian.

Fellow bus drivers were outraged by the arrest saying it was unheard of for an operator to be cuffed over an accident, sources said.

“They’re angry,” said the source.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of someone getting arrested for a fatality.”

“Brooklyn was very close to shutting down,” the source added.

Buses did eventually leave the lot, but have been advised by their union to be “extra cautious,” according to a source.

 

[bobtehpanda]

I'm surprised that this happened, mostly because people who kill pedestrians who have the right of way are rarely charged with a crime at all, let alone a bus driver. Generally, if you kill someone with a car and stay at the scene, you don't get in any trouble.

[Express Bus Operator]

Wow......Since when Bus Operators being arrested for an accident?..... "He was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian"  I can see that happening if he was just making the turn above the speed limit they're train to make. But in my opinion I think that's unfair and there's something more behind the situation that lead him to be arrested. Its the first time hearing a Bus Operator being arrested for a accident unless they were drunk or doing something illegal that caused it.

[MHV9218]

I'm surprised that this happened, mostly because people who kill pedestrians who have the right of way are rarely charged with a crime at all, let alone a bus driver. Generally, if you kill someone with a car and stay at the scene, you don't get in any trouble.

 

Exactly. Glad the arrested this jerk. I have no sympathy for people who kill others out of failure to yield, which is essentially laziness. The fact this was a left hand turn is telling.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Exactly. Glad the arrested this jerk. I have no sympathy for people who kill others out of failure to yield, which is essentially laziness. The fact this was a left hand turn is telling.

For now, it seems like an accident. But yeah, both drivers and pedestrians need to pay attention to their surroundings to prevent stuff like this from happening.

[Olegkha]

Exactly. Glad the arrested this jerk. I have no sympathy for people who kill others out of failure to yield, which is essentially laziness. The fact this was a left hand turn is telling.

 

MV You are an idiot ! Were you there ? do you know the whole story ? So why are you calling him a jerk ?

Hybrids have a very fat A Pillar and it is very easy to lose a person there, even with moving front and back with a certain speed a person can hide from the driver.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

MV You are an idiot ! Were you there ? do you know the whole story ? So why are you calling him a jerk ?

Hybrids have a very fat A Pillar and it is very easy to lose a person there, even with moving front and back with a certain speed a person can hide from the driver.

Now now... No name calling....

[MHV9218]

MV You are an idiot ! Were you there ? do you know the whole story ? So why are you calling him a jerk ?

Hybrids have a very fat A Pillar and it is very easy to lose a person there, even with moving front and back with a certain speed a person can hide from the driver.

 

This is the single biggest problem with bus operators: nobody can every do any wrong. I have plenty of friends who are operators, but I don't fall into this ridiculous 'it's never their fault' mentality.

 

On a left-hand turn across a multi-lane street, it is literally impossible for a single A-pillar to block vision for the entire turn. Maybe for a split second at best, but if you kill somebody on a left-hand (NOT right-hand) turn it is sheerly a result of your own failure to slow and or yield properly. This man was in the crosswalk with the light, and the operator simply didn't feel like stopping. I hope they throw the book at him.

[Express Bus Operator]

This is the single biggest problem with bus operators: nobody can every do any wrong. I have plenty of friends who are operators, but I don't fall into this ridiculous 'it's never their fault' mentality.

 

On a left-hand turn across a multi-lane street, it is literally impossible for a single A-pillar to block vision for the entire turn. Maybe for a split second at best, but if you kill somebody on a left-hand (NOT right-hand) turn it is sheerly a result of your own failure to slow and or yield properly. This man was in the crosswalk with the light, and the operator simply didn't feel like stopping. I hope they throw the book at him.

The last time i check at night the visibility is much more difficult to see compare to day time. Plus the weather condition were not too pleasant. It was raining and that street where the B44 turns ((New York Ave)) is very tight to turn on. 

 

I doubt he will serve time. The union is already supporting him according to a few articles I read online and I'm sure he will get a good lawyer. The only thing that will screw him over is if he was making that turn above the speed limit they ask to complete the turn.

[peacemak3r]

Exactly. Glad the arrested this jerk. I have no sympathy for people who kill others out of failure to yield, which is essentially laziness. The fact this was a left hand turn is telling.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call him a jerk. But I do agree that people who fail to yield should get the same treatment as anyone else failing to yield, bus operator or not, driver or not.

 

For now, it seems like an accident. But yeah, both drivers and pedestrians need to pay attention to their surroundings to prevent stuff like this from happening.

 

But! I agree with this statement as well, making left turns aren't as simple as you'd think it is. Depending on the vehicle and conditions, accidents may happen. Even on cars, some A-pillars do block vision that may lead to an accident.

 

- As others pointed out, it does seem rare for someone to be arrested if they stayed at the scene during an accidental fatality. I do feel like we're not being told the full story here. (As a driver's perspective).

[Olegkha]

This is the single biggest problem with bus operators: nobody can every do any wrong. I have plenty of friends who are operators, but I don't fall into this ridiculous 'it's never their fault' mentality.

 

On a left-hand turn across a multi-lane street, it is literally impossible for a single A-pillar to block vision for the entire turn. Maybe for a split second at best, but if you kill somebody on a left-hand (NOT right-hand) turn it is sheerly a result of your own failure to slow and or yield properly. This man was in the crosswalk with the light, and the operator simply didn't feel like stopping. I hope they throw the book at him.

Nobody can ever do wrong ?

I dont see it that way, Many drivers ( bus, truck, car ) do a lot of crap. Pedestrians do a lot of crap.

But you have no right calling him a jerk if you were not there, never drove a bus and never took that tight ass turn with a tree on one side, and a car standing on the red light.

A-pillar on left side does hide a person and if i am not mistaking there are more left turn knock down than right side knock downs ( could someone correct me if i am wrong )  ( dont forget there is a big mirror and a pillar, add it up and you have a large blind spot )

[46Dover]

What with the bus operator being arrested was part of this "Vision Zero" plan. Bus operators didn't take too well to the news. As per NY Post:

 

A group of Brooklyn bus drivers refused leave their depots early Wednesday to protest the arrest of a fellow driver — under a new Vision Zero law — for a fatal crash, union officials told the Post.

Bus operator Reginald Prescott, 57, behind the wheel of a B44 bus in East Flatbush whe he struck an elderly man walking in a crosswalk about 6 p.m. Tuesday, police sources said.

Jean Bonne-Anne, 78, was trying to cross at the intersection of Farragut Road and New York Avenue when the driver hung a left and struck him. He died at the scene.

“The conditions were poor. It’s a very difficult left turn,” a source said.

A visibly shaken Prescott, who has been on the job for more than seven years with a clean record, remained at the scene.

“The operator broke down and cried,” the source said. “It really hurt him.

The devastated driver was treated at a nearby hospital for trauma– but wound up getting slapped with cuffs at the hospital right in front of his wife, sources said.

Prescott was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian, which under a new law that is part of Mayor de Blasio’s ‘Vision Zero’ plan, increases the violation to a misdemeanor crime. The law went into effect in August.

The arresting officers admitted to Prescott that “this is ridiculous, but we have orders and we have to follow them.”

Outraged bus drivers and union officials said it was unheard of for an operator to be cuffed for an accident.

Drivers at the Jackie Gleason depot in Sunset Park, the Flatbush depot in Marine Park, and the Ulmer Park depot in Bath Beach were so outraged that they didn’t want to hit the roads Wednesday morning, sources said.

“Brooklyn was very close to shutting down,” a source said.

Most drivers ended up leaving the lot, but the union instructed them to be “extra cautious,” sources said.

“Bus drivers are not criminals,” said J.P. Patafio, vice-president at TWU Local 100, which reps bus drivers. “I’m extremely upset about it. I feel terrible for him.”

One union official said there were delays of up to 20 minutes at the depots, while the MTA said there were no significant delays.

An MTA spokeswoman said they offer their condolences to the pedestrian’s family, and that the bus operator was suspended while the crash is investigated.

She said the authority’s ‘Vision Zero’ work includes managers taking more observational trips to make sure buses are moving safely, and stronger training for drivers.

[peacemak3r]

I never liked the Vision Zero plan because it pretty much targets drivers only and pretty much never pedestrians, drivers obviously include bus drivers, truck drivers, and hopefully city officials.

 

More and more, it seems to be an accident and he did stay at the scene. Now you can attest how flawed this plan really is.

[46Dover]

I never liked the Vision Zero plan because it pretty much targets drivers only and pretty much never pedestrians, drivers obviously include bus drivers, truck drivers, and hopefully city officials.

 

More and more, it seems to be an accident and he did stay at the scene. Now you can attest how flawed this plan really is.

It's like what's the point in teaching your children "Look Both Ways Before Crossing"

[paulrivera]

So if I understand this, even if the guy lived (and maybe if the guy wasn't even hit and a cop was there watching) the B/O would have been arrested anyway? The B/O wasn't arrested for the fatality but instead for flat out not stopping for someone walking across the street. All this law does is tie up the legal system IMO...

 

By that logic, I can get 5 motorists arrested in an hour crossing random streets in Manhattan just by having them cut me off in the crosswalk. This law gives wayyy too much power to already bold pedestrians that can't tell the signals apart, much less look both ways before crossing. They are getting worse than the deer upstate, I tell you....

[46Dover]

So if I understand this, even if the guy lived (and maybe if the guy wasn't even hit and a cop was there watching) the B/O would have been arrested anyway? The B/O wasn't arrested for the fatality but instead for flat out not stopping for someone walking across the street. All this law does is tie up the legal system IMO...

 

By that logic, I can get 5 motorists arrested in an hour crossing random streets in Manhattan just by having them cut me off in the crosswalk. This law gives wayyy too much power to already bold pedestrians that can't tell the signals apart, much less look both ways before crossing. They are getting worse than the deer upstate, I tell you....

Hence the phrase "dumb as deer".....

[FamousNYLover]

Maybe elderly man cross against red light.

[QM1to6Ave]

One of the B/O's on the QM1 warned me about this law a few weeks back, told me he nearly wanted to quit if he was going to be treated like a criminal if he is involved in an accident with a pedestrian. He also said this gives the MTA more leeway in firing B/O's and not paying for legal settlements after these accidents, since the MTA can fire you if you get arrested and make the fired B/O pay out any settlements.

[46Dover]

One of the B/O's on the QM1 warned me about this law a few weeks back, told me he nearly wanted to quit if he was going to be treated like a criminal if he is involved in an accident with a pedestrian. He also said this gives the MTA more leeway in firing B/O's and not paying for legal settlements after these accidents, since the MTA can fire you if you get arrested and make the fired B/O pay out any settlements.

Now that you mention it. Even so, without a job, how would the fired person pay such a huge settlement?