CATS bus strikes, kills cyclist

11:29 PM EDT on Friday, October 14, 2005
By 6NEWS staff

A CATS bus driver with an extensive history of accidents struck and killed a bicycle rider moments after an accident that forced several passengers to change busses, police said Friday.

According to police, the accident happened just after 5 p.m. in the 3100 block of South Tryon Street, near the intersection of South Tryon and Remount Road.

Jerry Miller, the driver involved in the accident, was headed back to the CATS depot, when he hit 36-year-old Todd Weaver of Concord. He has had seven accidents in his 4 1/2 years of employment, according to police records.

Moments before hitting the cyclist, Miller had hit a planter in what CATS officials described as a "minor property damage incident." Seven people reporting minor injuries were taken to the hospital, and passengers were taken off the bus and transferred to another.

Another CATS driver collided with a car earlier Friday morning at 5th and 7th streets, sending 12 people to the hospital. Tuesday, a bus driver ran a stop sign and had to swerve to avoid a car.

6NEWS reporter Rebecca Lindstrom and WCNC.com producer Andre ****s contributed to this report.

CATS cut the number of bus-involved accidents in half last fiscal year, a CATS spokesman said.

Police have not filed any charges against Miller.

From http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/....f45a2866.html (requires registration)