DETROIT — A Detroit bus driver who had saved her job regardless of a document of crashes and aggressive driving was sentenced to no less than six months in jail Thursday for killing a pedestrian.
It was the second time that Geraldine Johnson’s bus had struck and killed somebody.
“I used to be flabbergasted on the driving historical past,” Judge E. Lynise Bryant stated.
Janice Bauer, 67, was hit by a metropolis bus whereas strolling in downtown Detroit in June 2023. She was an everyday bus rider and coincidentally labored for a regional transit company.
Johnson, 61, pleaded no contest to a shifting violation inflicting demise, a misdemeanor.
The choose went over Johnson’s driving document, noting many crashes even after the demise of a person who was hit in 2015 whereas making an attempt to take away his bike from the entrance of her bus.
Johnson did not return to work for greater than 18 months. Under a union contract, she wasn’t disciplined for the demise due to the lengthy interval off the job, officers stated.
Bryant stated Johnson ought to have questioned her personal capacity to drive after “greater than your fair proportion of crashes.”
“I have to say, ‘Hold on. Something’s not proper. Something is off with me. Must be my notion, my capacity — my one thing,’ ” the choose stated.
Johnson did not converse in court docket.
“She merely did not see her. This was not an intentional act,” protection lawyer Sharon Clark Woodside stated.
A union official final yr instructed The Detroit News that Johnson wasn’t at all times at fault in crashes.
In court docket, three siblings instructed the choose about their love for Bauer. “Janice wasn’t completed residing. She had locations to go, issues to do and folks to see,” Linda Bauer stated.
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