PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A bus driver who struck a federal court security officer with a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus as he walked in a crosswalk has been placed on paid leave, RIPTA officials said Thursday.
Driver Katherine Gormley, 64, had just let off all her passengers and was ending her eight-hour shift when she hit Frank McKnight, 69, around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, RIPTA CEO Raymond Studley said.
McKnight died Thursday evening at Rhode Island Hospital, the U.S. Marshals Service said. He’d been a court security officer for 13 years and a police officer in North Kingstown for 25 years, retiring as a lieutenant.
Studley and RIPTA Board Chairman Scott Avedisian would not discuss Gormley’s driving history, but said there was no indication that drugs, alcohol or a distraction such as a cellphone was involved. All drivers are tested for drugs and alcohol when they are involved in an accident, he said. Gormley has been a RIPTA driver for 15 years.
Gormley did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Studley said she was extremely distraught.
Providence Deputy Police Chief Thomas Oates said police have video of the accident from the surrounding buildings and from the bus, which was heading away from the state’s main bus hub in Kennedy Plaza. He said the bus was stopped at a red light shortly before the accident, then took a left. McKnight was crossing the street from the federal courthouse to the federal building and was in the crosswalk when he was hit, Oates said. Police are still investigating.
Studley did not immediately know how often RIPTA drivers have hit pedestrians in recent years. The last time a person was killed by a RIPTA bus was in 2007 in Pawtucket.
He said RIPTA drivers are required to go through an in-depth training program that includes defensive driving training. He said he was satisfied that drivers are operating buses safely around Kennedy Plaza.
“Our drivers have a very difficult job,” he said. “I do think the drivers take the necessary steps to take care of the passengers in the area.”
U.S. Marshal Jamie A. Hainsworth said McKnight’s absence will be “greatly felt” by those he worked with and served.
McKnight was a career law enforcement officer “who came to work daily eager and ready to serve, brandishing a positive attitude and always a smile,” Hainsworth said in a statement.
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