GRTC driver charged in death of pedestrian faced earlier reckless charge

The GRTC Transit System bus driver charged in the death of a pedestrian last week faced another reckless-driving count for a separate incident in a personal vehicle less than five months earlier.

Officials with the agency said they were unaware until contacted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch yesterday that Teresa L. Jones had a previous reckless-driving charge before Wednesday's accident that took the life of Loucendia Reed Lambert.

John M. Lewis Jr., the GRTC's chief executive officer, said Jones' failure to notify her supervisors of the previous reckless-driving charge would be part of the agency's investigation of last week's fatality.

"Absolutely," Lewis said. "We will take all of that into consideration as a part of our disciplinary process."

Jones, 46, of the 100 block of West 22nd Street in Richmond was driving a personal vehicle when she was cited May 22 in the city's East End for reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt. She paid a $25 fine for the seat-belt violation, and the reckless-driving charge was dismissed after she attended and paid for an eight-hour, court-referred driving school.

The reckless-driving charge was dismissed at a hearing in Richmond General District Court on Wednesday afternoon, roughly seven hours after the fatal accident.

Court records indicate Wednesday's hearing had been scheduled in late June. As a matter of routine, defendants who complete driving school are not required to attend the follow-up hearing at which the charge is dismissed.

Authorities said Jones, a bus operator for GRTC for three years, was at the wheel of a bus that fatally struck Lambert on Wednesday shortly before 8 a.m. at North 14th and East Franklin streets. Lambert, 55, of the Prince George County community of Disputanta, was on her way to her job at the Virginia Department of Health.

Lambert was declared dead at the scene. Jones, who was taken to VCU Medical Center for examination and substance testing as a matter of procedure after the accident, was charged with reckless driving two days later.

Kathy Shaw Clary, a spokeswoman for GRTC, said Jones remained on paid administrative leave yesterday, as she has been since the fatality.

"They are still undergoing the internal investigation," Clary said.

Court documents from the May 22 incident indicate Jones was driving a car when she went through a radar trap while going 55 mph in a 35-mph zone in Richmond's East End. The offense occurred about 5:20 p.m. on a Friday.

An officer stopped Jones roughly two blocks after she went past the radar gun and charged her with reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

Jones paid $25 for the seat-belt citation on June 1, and on June 30, a judge rescheduled a hearing on the reckless-driving charge until last week to give Jones time to complete driving school.

A court-approved instructor certified on Sept. 10 that Jones had satisfied the requirements for the so-called "Second Chance Driving Improvement Clinic" and paid $67 for the course.

Hand-stamped on the dismissal of the reckless-driving charge was a notation that Jones would not be assessed any points on her Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles record as a result of the driving school and subsequent dismissal of the charge.

The GRTC's Lewis said DMV officials automatically notify the bus agency when an operator accumulates any driving points.

But Lewis said that in this case, Jones was obligated to tell GRTC about the traffic stop after her arrest -- and not wait to see if the court case was resolved in her favor.

"All employees are required to notify us of anything involving criminal issues or traffic arrests," he said.

Jones is due to appear in Richmond General District Court tomorrow on the latest reckless-driving charge.

Contact Joe Macenka at (804) 649-6804 or .