Port Authority Bus Driver Charged In Pitt Student's Death Sentenced To 3 Years Probation
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The driver of a Port Authority bus that hit and killed a Pitt student has pleaded guilty.
Shavonne James appeared remotely before Judge Alex Bicket Monday, pleading guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of recklessly endangering another person in 20-year-old Barbara Como's death last January.
According to the criminal complaint, Shavonne James made a right turn onto De Soto Street in Oakland without yielding to pedestrians who were in the marked crosswalk and had the walk sign.
The criminal complaint says James had just picked up a passenger at a non-designated bus stop. That passenger, according to court paperwork, didn't get behind the stop line while the bus was in motion, blocking the mirrors on the bus.
Police say James operating the bus unsafely was a direct cause of the crash.
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Como, from Chester Springs, Pa., was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition and later died. She was an undergraduate research assistant with the Learning Research and Development Center.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office says in exchange for the plea, the judge sentenced James to 3 years probation.