CINCINNATI — The family of a woman who was struck and killed by a Metro driver is now suing the driver as well as the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, which operates Metro.
Beverly Kinney, an 87-year-old former Princeton High School teacher, was killed on Jan. 11 in Hyde Park when she was struck by driver Deon Willis in the intersection of Dana Avenue and Duck Creek Road. According to a civil complaint filed Monday, the walk was about a mile from her home.
Willis is facing five counts of vehicular manslaughter for Kinney's death.
Kinney's estate is now "seeking accountability for the misconduct that caused [Kinney's] tragic death, and to encourage reforms needed to prevent other such senseless injuries and deaths," according to the civil complaint.
Kinney's family, including her husband and sons, is holding a press conference at 11 a.m. to speak about the lawsuit.
In bus surveillance footage from Metro, Willis is seen turning onto Duck Creek Road before hitting Kinney, who was crossing the road in a marked crosswalk when hit.
After Willis hits Kinney, he says "what the hell?" before bringing the bus to a stop. He then runs off the bus to go check on her, and then a person is seen exiting while talking to 911. Willis also calls 911.
Watch the full surveillance footage below:
According to the civil complaint, after he got a better look at what happened, Willis also put the bus in reverse and backed up roughly 3 feet while Kinney was still under the Metro bus before he began making phone calls.
"Willis's actions were negligent or reckless and were the sole proximate cause of the accident and of Beverly's death," the complaint reads.
Willis had a history of previous crashes while employed with Metro, according to his personnel file.
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Court records show that Willis had other traffic violations going back 20 years. Many of the charges were dismissed or ignored, but there were prior tickets for driving with a suspended license in 1999 and for driving without a license in 2008.
The civil complaint also sheds new light on Willis' driving history.
Prior to his time with SORTA, Willis admitted that he was fired from his previous two positions as a garbage truck driver, and in both positions, he was fired or disciplined for violating safety rules, according to the civil complaint.
According to the civil complaint, Willis ran a red light and struck a 24-year-old man while driving a Metro bus on Dec. 1, 2018.
"[The 24-year-old] spent two months in a coma and still has not regained mobility in the left side of his body," the complaint reads.
The man is now wheelchair-bound and requires a feeding tube, according to the complaint.
Willis's sister, Jamisha Willis, told WCPO 9 that her brother's previous driving offenses don't make him a criminal, and that he's haunted every day by what happened to Kinney.
"Deon is not the type of person you're trying to make him out of and that's all I've got to say," Jamisha Willis said.
The civil complaint also claims that Willis is not the only repeat offender SORTA hired and continued to employ, and Kinney is not the only person killed by a SORTA bus in recent history.
"In fact, SORTA buses have been involved in over 300 crashes since 2014. Eleven of those crashes involved pedestrians," the complaint reads.
Metro previously told WCPO 9 that it is reviewing the results of the Cincinnati police investigation and the charges brought against Willis as part of its internal investigation.
Kinney's estate is suing for thousands in damages, but it also wants SORTA to undergo an independent audit of its policies and procedures for hiring, training and retaining drivers. They want the results of that audit to be made public, as well.
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