After three fatal crashes in four days, RTD plans to put all of its bus and light- rail operators through safety refresher courses beginning next week.
More than 1,000 bus and light-rail operators employed directly by the Regional Transportation District will have to take the courses, as will about 750 bus drivers who work for the private contractors that handle about 45 percent of RTD’s fixed- route bus service, officials said.
The course will “emphasize the importance of safety in everything we do,” RTD spokesman Scott Reed said.
A Lafayette man struck by a bus as he rode a bicycle Tuesday night became the fourth death attributed to a collision with an RTD bus in less than a week.
Marvin “Chip” Webb, 42, died Wednesday afternoon, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said. Webb, a cook, had recently opened Chip’s Place, a popular breakfast spot in Lafayette.
By 6 p.m. Wednesday, customers of Chip’s Place had begun to post farewell messages on the door of the cafe, about 10 blocks north of where Webb was hit by the bus.
“Goodby Chip We Will Miss You,” read one. Others, from children, paid homage to Webb’s Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes. Vases of flowers and a pair of votive candles sat on the ground in front of the door.
Webb was hit as he rode his bike east on City Center Circle across South Public Road about 9:45 p.m., Lafayette police said. Moments before the accident, the bus, which was coming out of a park-n-Ride, stopped for a red light, Reed said.
When the light turned green, the bus began a left turn from City Center onto South Public Road, he said.
“As the light turned green, he proceeded across the intersection, (and) a bicycle was coming eastbound on City Center and collided with that bus,” Reed said. “The bus was going at a very slow speed on the turn and stopped instantly.”
The accident was the third in a string of fatal collisions involving RTD buses since Saturday.
On Saturday, a bus driven by Tiden ekiyalesh Hawariyat, 30, ran a red light at East Eighth Avenue and Lincoln Street in Denver and plowed into a Volkswagen and another vehicle. Carla Miranda and Dustin Peletier, both 29, who were in the Volkswagen, died.
Hawariyat, an Ethiopian immigrant, faces 13 misdemeanor charges in the accident. She is scheduled to appear in Denver District Court at 8 a.m. May 7.
On Monday afternoon, an RTD bus struck and killed Clinton Grider, 78, as the bus pulled away from a stop at the intersection of South Peoria Street and East Mississippi Avenue.
Hawariyat works for Veolia Transportation, which operates RTD buses under contract. She has been with the company since July 2008. The drivers in the other accidents, neither of whom have been identified, work for RTD.
A review of Aurora Municipal Court records shows Hawariyat was cited by Aurora police in 2007 for an “unsafe lane change” traffic violation and for careless driving in an incident last year. She was driving a personal vehicle in each case.
Both cases were pleaded down to driving a “vehicle with a defective headlight,” a one-point violation in each case.
Veolia spokeswoman Valerie Mi chael said she could not comment on Hawariyat’s Aurora driving infractions because they relate to personnel issues.
But Michael said of Hawariyat’s employment at Veolia: “She has a good safety, customer-service and attendance record. She is a driver in good standing.” Michael also said the training Hawariyat received “meets RTD’s standards for safety.”
Hawariyat couldn’t be reached for comment. A former roommate, Mitike Gebremariam of Aurora, said the woman neither smokes nor drinks and has not been in trouble before.
“We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to everyone affected by this tragic event,” Michael said of Saturday’s accident.
Reed said the string of fatalities has been “tragic and troubling. . . . Since 2007, RTD has had one at-fault fatal accident, so it is a very big concern of ours to see this recent rash of accidents, and we are doing everything we can to re-emphasize safety.”
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
Denver Post staff writer Mike McPhee and freelance writer Vicky Uhland contributed to this report.
