Bus driver failed to yield before crash that killed scooter rider in St. Petersburg, police say

Oct 17, 2024

A Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus driver didn’t yield to pedestrian traffic on the Pinellas Trail before hitting and killing a man on a motorized scooter in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, police said.

Deanna Leigh Grayston, 53, was driving a bus west in the outside lane of 22nd Avenue North about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday when she approached the intersection with the Pinellas Trail, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

A pedestrian on the Pinellas Trail activated the flashing lights at the crossing and started to cross 22nd Avenue from south to north. At the same time, a 65-year-old man on a scooter began to cross from north to south. The transit bus then hit him, police said.

Police have not released the man’s name because investigators were still working to notify his family. He turned 65 on the day of the crash, according to police.

Investigators determined Grayston failed to yield for the pedestrian and scooter rider trying to cross, police said.

There were 10 passengers on the bus at the time. None were injured.

The investigation continued Wednesday, police said. Grayston has not been cited or criminally charged.

Grayston has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is underway, transit authority spokesperson Stephanie Weaver said in an email. Grayston has worked for agency since 2007.

Weaver said the agency had no comment because the investigation was ongoing.

Grayston’s disciplinary history was not immediately available Wednesday.

Efforts by the Tampa Bay Times to reach Grayston on Wednesday were not successful.

April Murphy, the representative for the Service Employees International Union, which represents transit authority drivers, said union officials were still reviewing the case and had no comment Wednesday.

Times staff writer Emily Wunderlich contributed to this report.