Metro fires bus operator who hit jogger

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By Kelsey Knutson, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

A Metro bus operator who struck a pedestrian at Florida Avenue and Connecticut Avenue this month has been fired, Metro officials said Thursday.

The driver, Carla A. Proctor, was fired Monday for failing to follow what Metro officials described in a press release as "standard operating procedures."

Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel would not elaborate Thursday on what those procedures were, but he said the accident was preventable.

"[The driver] didn't do everything she could to prevent the crash," Mr. Taubenkibel said.

He said Ms. Proctor has had two other minor preventable accidents in the past seven years. After the Sept. 3 accident, Ms. Proctor was placed on paid administrative leave while Metro performed its own investigation.

The Associated Press reported that after her first two on-the-job accidents in 2003 and 2004, Ms. Proctor received remedial training. The news report also said Ms. Proctor received five personal traffic tickets in January.

The victim of the Sept. 3 incident, 30-year-old Amanda Mahnke, was jogging shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest when she was struck by the bus, which was out of service at the time.

Ms. Proctor, 43, turned the bus east on Florida Avenue when she struck Miss Mahnke, who serves as communications director for Rep. Rick Larsen, Washington state Democrat. Miss Mahnke was taken to George Washington University Hospital in critical condition.

Miss Mahnke's 41-year-old brother, Robert Mahnke, said Thursday she is recovering from her injuries.

"She is out of ICU, which is good," he said. "Of course we're very grateful for the care she received there. She had serious injuries and has a long recovery ahead of her."

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the Sept. 3 incident.