CINCINNATI — The driver of a Metro bus who hit and killed an 87-year-old woman in Hyde Park in January is now facing criminal charges.
Deon Willis was charged Tuesday with one count of vehicular homicide and four counts of vehicular manslaughter in relation to the death of Beverly Joanne Kinney, according to court records.
On Jan. 11, CPD's Traffic Unit was called to the intersection of Dana Avenue and Duck Creek Road near I-71 to investigate a fatal crash involving a Metro bus and a pedestrian.
Police said Kinney was crossing Duck Creek Road at Dana Avenue on a marked crosswalk when a Metro bus, which was being driven by Deon Willis, turning onto Duck Creek Road hit her.
After the fatal crash, the crash report said Willis "was found to be operating with a suspended driver's license status." Brandy Jones, senior vice president of external affairs for Metro said on Jan. 17 that a third-party company's report sent to Metro determined the driver's license was valid as of Jan. 4.
Court records also showed 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.
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According to the Willis' personnel file, he was involved in three other crashes since he was hired by Metro in February of 2018.
For each of those incidents, Willis was issued a written warning in his personnel file. Willis was also documented for other safety violations that did not result in a crash.
The Kinney family released a statement through their lawyer after Willis was charged.
"The Kinney family strongly believes Mr. Willis should be prosecuted to the fullest extent under Ohio law. Cincinnati Metro also bears responsibility for this since they put Mr. Willis in the position to recklessly kill Beverly Kinney — a longtime educator and pillar of the community — as she used a crosswalk during a casual afternoon stroll," the family said. "Metro should never have let this man behind the wheel of a city bus, given Willis's terrible driving history and the fact that he put a 24-year-old in a wheelchair while driving a Metro bus before he killed this wonderful woman. Metro's conduct in allowing Willis to remain a Metro driver enabled him to kill Beverly Kinney."
Metro also released a statement after Willis' charges, saying Metro's "deepest sympathies go out to the Kinney family for the tragic loss of Mrs. Kinney."
"We have received and are reviewing the results of the police investigation and the charges brought against Mr. Willis as part of our process to finalize our internal investigation. Due to pending litigation, we are not able to comment on any specifics related to the incident at this time," Metro wrote.
