CINCINNATI — The driver of a Metro bus who hit and killed an 87-year-old woman in Hyde Park in January pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in court Tuesday morning.
Deon Willis was charged on May 14 with one count of vehicular homicide and four counts of vehicular manslaughter in connection with the death of Beverly Joanne Kinney, according to court records.
Kinney's husband read a statement in court Tuesday about losing his wife.
"Now that she's gone, I am facing the rest of my life with the impact of loneliness and sadness and anger," he said. "To have been so close then suddenly put in this unbelievably painful situation is tragic in self."
"I don't know what the future holds for me but I promise myself and her that I will live as she would have me."
The judge in court said Willis could face up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. His license would also have to be suspended for at least one year and up to five years.
The prosecutor said the four counts of vehicular manslaughter would be dismissed if Willis entered a guilty plea for vehicular homicide.
On Jan. 11, CPD's Traffic Unit was called to the intersection of Dana Avenue and Duck Creek Road near Interstate 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, being driven by Deon Willis, turned onto Duck Creek Road and hit her.
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 driving without a license in 2008.
According to Willis' personnel file, he has been involved in three other crashes since Metro hired him in February 2018.
Willis was issued a written warning in his personnel file for each incident. Willis was also documented for other safety violations that did not result in a crash.
The law firm Cooper Elliot — the firm representing the Kinney Family — released the following statement after Willis entered the guilty plea:
The Kinney family is deeply disappointed that Ohio law does not allow for charging Deon Willis with a felony for his reckless driving, which resulted in the tragic death of Beverly Kinney. Willis, who was driving without a valid license and has a history of causing serious accidents, pled guilty to a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of only 180 days and up to 5 years of license revocation. Beverly's life was worth so much more than this lightweight punishment, and Beverly’s family feels strongly that the full sentence should be imposed to protect the public from Willis’s dangerous driving. However, with Willis's liability for the accident established by his guilty plea, our firm is eagerly preparing for the civil trial. We look forward to holding Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) and Deon Willis accountable for their actions and making Cincinnati safer for all residents.
Willis is set to be sentenced on Aug. 29 at 1 p.m.
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