In Providence, Rhode Island, a driver from the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) has been placed on administrative leave following an accident in which her bus struck a pedestrian, a federal court security officer.
The officer, 69-year old Frank McKnight of North Kingstown, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was said to be in critical condition. He had been crossing the street in a crosswalk at Washington Street when the incident occurred.
According to Raymond Studley, the CEO of RIPTA, the bus driver’s administrative leave is standard procedure. There is no evidence that the driver, 64-year old Katherine Gormley of Cranston, had any drugs or alcohol in her system or was distracted by a cell phone or anything else. She had been at the end of an eight-hour shift when the incident took place, and had just dropped off her last passengers and was driving the vehicle back to RIPTA headquarters. She has been a RIPTA employee for over 27 years and a driver with the authority for fifteen years. No information was provided to the public regarding her previous driving record or whether there had been any similar incidents or complaints about her in the past.
Studley said, “She’s extremely distraught, as is the rest of the transit authority and the public at large. Tis is a horrible, horrible tragedy.”
McKnight is an employee of the federal court system, and has been service as a court security officer for thirteen years after having served on the North Kingstown Police Department, from which he retired with the rank of lieutenant. He had been with the force for over two dozen years.
According to police Sgt. Paul Zienowicz, the accident is being investigated from all angles, including analysis of video taken from cameras mounted on nearby buildings and an inspection of the bus itself for mechanical problems. It seems that the bus was turning onto Washington Street between the court house and nearby building when it took place. “The accident remains under investigation. We are still in the process of investigating the accident and gathering information and talking to people, so we’re not going to release any further information other than what we have already,” Zienowicz said.