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Bus Driver in Fatal Michigan Avenue Crash Was Rookie CTA Employee

 A female pedestrian was killed and nine other people were injured after a No. 148 CTA bus crashed onto the sidewalk on Michigan Avenue Tuesday evening, officials said.
A female pedestrian was killed and nine other people were injured after a No. 148 CTA bus crashed onto the sidewalk on Michigan Avenue Tuesday evening, officials said.
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DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner

DOWNTOWN — The CTA bus driver who ran a red light and killed a pedestrian off Michigan Avenue on Tuesday evening had been on the route for only three months before the fatal collision, the transit agency said.

Donald Barnes, 48, started working at the CTA in September, and had been driving the 148 route since March, CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said. Chase said Barnes had completed all necessary CTA training before his employment, but said she did not know his prior experience before joining the transit agency.

Witnesses said Tuesday the bus was trying to avoid another car when it veered off Michigan Avenue and plowed into the pedestrians on the northeast corner of Michigan and Lake, just outside the Illinois Center's plaza. Nine people were injured, and Aimee Coath, a 51-year-old Flossmoor resident, was killed. 

Barnes was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening head injuries, and Chase did not know his current status as of Wednesday afternoon. Chase said a cause of the collision has not yet been determined, and the CTA sent video from inside the bus to police, who are investigating. All options, including mechanical failure, are being considered.

"We're looking at everything possible," she said. 

Police have already issued Barnes tickets for failure to stop at a red light and failure to exercise due caution. Chase said the CTA would consider any disciplinary action after the investigation is complete. 

Barnes began his shift Tuesday at 6:20 a.m., driving the Clark Street #22 bus till 8:20 a.m., Chase said. His next shift began at 2:31 p.m. on the 152 Addison and 135 Clarendon/LaSalle routes before he started driving the 148 Clarendon/Michigan route at 5:27 p.m., about 20 minutes before the collision was reported.   

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