Police have arrested a former Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority trolley driver on a reckless driving charge in connection to a November crash that seriously injured a 15-year-old girl who was hit by a trolley in downtown St. Petersburg.
Police arrested Chrishawn Renee Rodgers, 55, of Tampa on Wednesday on a felony charge of reckless driving with seriously bodily injury, about two months after the Nov. 19 crash. Rodgers was also given citations for a red-light violation, providing false information in a crash and speeding too fast for an intersection, according to a news release from the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Tammy Burch of Gulfport got off a SunRunner bus about 11:22 a.m. that day and was trying to cross First Avenue near Seventh Street when she was struck by the eastbound trolley.
According to an arrest affidavit, Rodgers was driving the trolley on 1st Avenue South when the traffic signal at 8th Street changed from green to yellow and then to red.
” The defendant made a conscious decision to increase the speed of the trolley and continue eastbound through the intersection of 8th Street South after the traffic signal was a solid steady red,” the affidavit states. “The defendant had a wanton disregard for the safety of the persons in the roadway and the persons on the trolley as she increased her speed to go through the traffic signal when she had the opportunity and duty to stop before getting to the stop bar.”
nce through the intersection, the trolley struck Burch at the increased speed, according to the affidavit.
”If not for the blatant disregard of traffic laws by the defendant, who is a professionally trained driver who holds a commercial driver’s license, this crash would not have occurred,” the affidavit states.
Rodgers and two trolley passengers were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries after the crash.
Records show Rodgers was being held in the Pinellas County jail on Thursday.
Driver fired, union to fight it
Rodgers was “terminated per our policies immediately after the accident occurred,” Stephanie Weaver, a spokesperson for the transit authority said in an email in response to questions from the Tampa Bay Times. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman and her family as she continues her recovery.”
In response to questions about Rodger’s employment and disciplinary history, Weaver directed the Times to the authority’s public records portal.
April Murphy, a former PSTA driver who is now the representative for the Service Employees International Union, said the union is fighting Rodgers’ termination.
Murphy didn’t dispute that Rodgers ran the red light and should have stopped but contends that she did not significantly increase her speed before doing so.
“It wasn’t like she was trying to race through the light,” Murphy said. “She didn’t speed through it like they’re trying to make it out.”
She also noted that the teen ran out in front of the bus without using a crosswalk.
Murphy said Rodgers filed a grievance after she was fired, which the transit authority denied. The union is now taking the case to arbitration.
Under the union’s contract, drivers are terminated if they are charged by the transit authority with four so-called Group III offenses in a 12-month period, Murphy said. Group III violations are the less serious of the three offense groups and include such policy violations as being discourteous to passengers and receiving a traffic citation, Murphy said.
The transit authority counted the November crash as Rodgers’ fourth Group III offense within a year, but Murphy said the transit authority did not give Rodgers proper due process for the third offense, which happened a couple of weeks prior to the November crash and involved allegations of improperly cutting a route. The union filed a grievance for that offense, too, which Murphy said the transit authority did not properly consider.
“That’s why we’re going to arbitration, because PSTA did something wrong,” Murphy said.
Murphy said Rodgers’ first Group III offense in the 12-month period was for running a red light and the second was for being discourteous to a passenger.
Murphy said Rodgers had been grappling with personal and work-related issues before the crash.
“I really think that contributed it,” she said.
The arrest of a transit driver for an on-the-job incident is rare, said Murphy, who has been connected to the Pinellas transit authority for about two decades and could only recall one other arrest in that time. That case involved a driver who crashed into a St. Petersburg check cashing business and who was later convicted of DUI by a jury that found he was under the influence of prescription drugs at the time.
Teen girl now home, but still recovering
Tammy spent about five days in a comaat Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, just a few blocks from where she was hit while crossing the street, said her father, Larry Burch.
She had an operation that removed her spleen and a brain surgery. Among her injuries were brain trauma, a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, broken pelvis, missing teeth and facial fractures.
“When she saw me, the first words out of her mouth was ‘Daddy, I’m so sorry,’” her father said.
Burch said Tammy has been worried that her injuries are putting a strain on the family. She was concerned when she saw her GPA drop from a perfect 4.0. He tells her to “just focus on the healing.”
When she woke up, she suffered short-term memory loss. After a few weeks, her memory and other injuries began to improve. Burch said Tammy was well enough to return home on Jan. 3.
While Burch said Tammy is recovering, the extent of her injuries is unknown.
Her vision is blurry in one eye, she is deaf in one ear and she is still missing a piece of her skull, Burch said. She’s prone to seizures and can’t be left alone for fear she will fall down. Tammy wears a helmet — decorated with stickers — to protect her brain from further injuries.
“Just about every bone in her face was broken,” Burch said.
Her father is encouraging Tammy to keep her mind occupied. She spends her days doing homework, finishing crossword puzzles or reading a book she got for Christmas.
Still, Burch doesn’t want her to tire herself out.
“But little short stories that will keep her attention and she can get through it — it’s like a victory,” he said.
To keep her strength up, she eats oatmeal or supplements food with five nutrition drinks each day. She uses a feeding tube at night. Tammy is still missing most of her top teeth, Burch said.
She has a long road to recovery, he said, which includes skull reconstruction surgery, an operation for the blindness in her eye and dental surgery.
Burch, a transportation supervisor with the transit agency, typically responds to crashes like his daughter’s incident. He said he wasn’t on duty when Tammy was struck by the trolley.
“If I were working I would have responded to this accident,” he said.
Burch returned to work Sunday and has been in talks with the human resources department to ease his transition back while he balances caring for Tammy.
Burch said he was grateful to investigators who made the arrest.
“We’re very happy with with the work of the St. Petersburg Police Department and how they handled this accident and arrived at the outcome they did,” he said.
In the aftermath of a Pedestrian accident, Ovadia Law Group is your dedicated ally. Call us at 1-800-674-9396, and let our experienced team guide you through the complexities of your case. We understand the challenges you face, from medical bills to emotional distress, and we’re committed to fighting for your rights. Ovadia Law Group will navigate insurance claims, handle legal intricacies, and work tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve for recovery. Your well-being is our priority, and we stand ready to be your advocates during this challenging time. Trust Ovadia Law Group to help you rebuild after a pedestrian accident.
Source: Tampabay
