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Passenger recounts fatal crash involving RTC bus

Posted at 11:59 AM, Jan 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-11 09:28:31-05
UPDATE: Action News has an update to a fatal crash from over the weekend involving an RTC bus. One of the passengers spoke to Action News and recounts the crash from his perspective.
 
Christopher Castilow tells us he was only on the bus for a couple of minutes. He says the driver was driving fine until all of a sudden, he went up onto the curb near Tropicana Avenue and Dean Martin Drive.
 
By going up onto the curb, Castilow says the bus driver took out the bus shelter at the bus stop. And by doing that, a woman waiting for the bus was knocked to the ground and run over by the bus.
 
Castilow is still in shock after witnessing the body on the sidewalk.
 
"When he saw the body, it just really tore him up, cause we didn't think it was gonna be that bad," said Castilow about the bus driver.
 
Castilow is a frequent RTC bus rider. He says many stops are stationed too close to the roadway.
 
ORIGINAL STORY:
 
A woman was hit and killed by an RTC bus on Saturday.
 
It happened around 5 a.m. near Tropicana Avenue and Dean Martin Drive.
 
Investigators say the victim was sitting at a bus stop under the bus shelter.
 
The RTC bus driver lost control of the bus and drove onto the sidewalk, completely destroying the bus shelter, striking and killing the victim.
 
The victim was pronounced dead on scene. Police say the bus driver, at minimum, will face a vehicular manslaughter charge.
 
Local Michael Hardy says of the area, "I am always 10-15 feet away from the bus before it stops." 
 
Commuters say driver's in the area are reckless. They are hoping they redesign the bus stop.
 
If it's determined the bus driver was impaired, the charges will be intensified. No other vehicles were hit in the crash. No other pedestrians were hit. The driver did not sustain major injuries.