An Ohio bus driver who had been fired and reinstated after an earlier accident was on her cell phone when her bus struck and killed a pedestrian in March, according to investigators.
Angela Williams, 49, of Cleveland, was indicted Thursday on a felony charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. If convicted, she could get up to five years in prison in the death of Patrick Merrill, 59, of suburban Berea.
He was struck in a crosswalk while the bus was making a left turn. It was the second fatal bus accident involving a pedestrian in a crosswalk in seven months in Cleveland.
Williams had been charged with a misdemeanor before the cell call was confirmed. Bus drivers in Cleveland are prohibited from using cell phones while behind the wheel.
Williams, who was fired, didn't immediately respond to a message left Friday at a phone listed in court records.
Williams, who was hired in 2003, also was fired after hitting a pedestrian in 2006, causing minor injuries. She returned to work after her union appealed the dismissal and an arbitrator ruled she should get her job back.
There was no immediate comment Friday from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 268 on the circumstances of Williams' second accident. A messages left at union offices seeking comment wasn't returned.
After the first fatal accident, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority ordered drivers to pause before making left turns. After the second death, the agency ordered drivers to honk before making left turns.