SamTrans Driver Charged In Fatal December Crash
PALO ALTO (CBS / AP) -- A bus driver who was behind the wheel of a transit bus when it hit and killed a woman in downtown Palo Alto last December has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Santa Clara County prosecutors say they filed the misdemeanor charge against Morena Guadalupe Artiga on Monday, but did not charge her with gross negligence.
Authorities say Artiga was driving a SamTrans bus when it hit Sheena Marie Barker as she was using a crosswalk to cross through an intersection on Dec. 30.
Barker, a mother of three adult children, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker told the San Jose Mercury News that Artiga is facing the possibility of up to a year in jail, if convicted.
Artiga's attorney, Dan Barton, says she is due to be arraigned in June.
SamTrans has placed Artiga on administrative leave.
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