The city of Detroit has agreed to pay $5.85 million to settle a lawsuit following the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a city bus, marking the second fatality involving the same driver since 2015.
Wayne County Judge Kathleen McCarthy approved the settlement last week, according to court records.
The victim, 67-year-old Janice Bauer, was hit by a city bus while walking in a crosswalk in downtown Detroit in June 2023. The driver, Geraldine Johnson, was sentenced to six months in jail a year ago after pleading no contest to a moving violation causing death, a misdemeanor charge.
Johnson had been involved in 19 other accidents, and her driving record was known to first responders as a significant risk, according to the attorneys representing Bauer’s estate. In 2015, a man was killed after being struck while trying to remove his bike from the front of Johnson’s bus.
The union representing the bus drivers suggested that Johnson had not wanted to return to driving after the first fatality but felt compelled to do so in order to keep her city job.
Johnson has not commented publicly on the incident involving Bauer. Her attorney, Sharon Clark Woodside, stated that Johnson simply “didn’t see her” at the time of the fatal collision.