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Richmond Bus Driver Found Guilty of Reckless Driving in Pedestrian Death

A former GRTC Transit System driver who fatally struck a pedestrian in downtown Richmond on Sept. 30 was convicted of reckless driving.

While driving a bus, Teresa L. Jones, 46, struck Loucendia Reed Lambert, 55, of Disputanta about 8 a.m. while Lambert was crossing North 14th Street. Jones was turning right onto 14th from East Franklin Street after being stopped at a red light.

"This was one of the most horrible days of my life. . . . I'd never experienced that type of pain before," Jones said yesterday in court.

Testimony during the 90-minute trial showed that the bus may have had a malfunctioning driver's seat, that Jones' vision may have been impaired in part because of the seat and that a passenger was talking to Jones as she drove.

"I looked both ways. . . . I did not see Ms. Lambert cross in front of me. I did not," Jones insisted. When the light turned green and Jones turned right on 14th Street, she heard a bump, and passengers told her it was a woman.

Mark Allen, a police detective who arrived at the scene, said Jones was "very upset, shaking, kind of panicky." Another detective said Lambert had walked 20 feet into the street on the crosswalk before she was hit.

Her body came to rest 18 feet away. A shoe, some food and her purse were on the pavement where she was struck.

GRTC bus driver Darwin Henry testified for the defense that two days before the fatality, he was driving the same bus and the seat collapsed to the floor. The incident did not cause an accident, but he had to be assisted getting out of the seat.

Henry, who suffered unspecified injuries, said he reported the seat problem and other problems with the same bus. He said that when he learned the bus involved in Lambert's death was the same bus, "I was shocked to see it was still out there."

A spokeswoman for GRTC said after the trial yesterday that she could not comment on Henry's testimony, except to say that drivers are required to inspect buses before using them each day and to report any problems.

Jones said she began driving the bus at 5:30 a.m. after inspecting it. She said she did not experience any problems with the seat until she was stopped at the red light on Franklin waiting to turn onto 14th, and it slowly began sinking as far down as it would go.

She said she was trying to adjust the seat and never saw Lambert cross in front of the bus, which could be seen in a video taken from a camera inside the bus. A bus camera also showed a passenger speaking to Jones.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Collette McEachin, Jones conceded that she proceeded with the turn when the light turned green, instead of stopping and putting on her flashing lights, even though there was a problem with the seat and it was more difficult to see because she was sitting lower.

Lambert must have been in a blind spot and moved along in it as the bus moved, Jones told McEachin.

Richmond General District Judge Thomas O. Jones expressed sympathy for the victim and for Jones before finding Jones guilty and fining her $100. "It's one of the more tragic cases that I have tried in my 25 years on the bench," he said.

Teresa Jones had been facing a maximum fine of $2,500 and/or up to 12 months in jail. Her lawyer, John W. Luxton, said he did not know whether his client would appeal.

Lambert's family, which has filed a $10 million suit against GRTC, refused to comment after the trial. GRTC announced Jones' firing the day Lambert's family filed the suit in November.

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Mr. Stelly regularly appears in the courts of the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, and Hanover County.

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