DDOT driver sentenced to prison and probation after killing pedestrian

DETROIT (WXYZ) — A DDOT driver will spend at least six months in prison and two years on probation after she killed a pedestrian with her bus, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced today.

This stems from an accident that occurred on June 2 of last year when, according to authorities, around 7:30 a.m. Geraldine Johnson, a 61-year-old woman from Harper Woods, hit a bus at the intersection of Griswold Street and West Congress Street drove. As she tried to turn left, she hit Janice Bauer, a 67-year-old from Grosse Pointe Park, who was trying to cross the street when the light was green. Bauer was pronounced dead at the scene and Johnson was released shortly after the accident.

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This isn't the first time Johnson has killed someone while driving a DDOT bus, as 7 Investigator Ross Jones found she remained on the payroll in 2017 after killing a passenger two years earlier.

Story from 2023: DDOT driver also struck and killed a passenger in a fatal crash in 2015

Second fatal accident involving a DDOT driver

Johnson was indicted in June last year and pleaded no contest to the Movement Violation Causing Death verdict a few months later. She was sentenced today to two years probation and one year in prison, with the first six months served in the Wayne County Jail. She will spend the final six months of her sentence in prison if she violates the terms of her probation.

“This case is tragic in every way,” said prosecutor Kym Worthy. “Janice Bauer lost her life.” The alleged facts are that defendant Geraldine Johnson literally ran over her with the city bus she was driving, causing her death.