Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffery A.Manning who presided over the non-jury trial ruled two former bus drivers, Thomas Frauens, 57, and Juliann Maier, 47, were “racing” their empty buses and jockeying for position seconds before Maier lost control of her bus sending it off I-279 and down a hillside on Sept. 22, 2014.
Judge Manning made it clear in his ruling that both drivers were engaging in reckless conduct as they drove their empty buses, but said the only lives they endangered were their own.
“I can’t contemplate how they placed anyone at risk of death or bodily injury,” he said. “There was no imminent collision, no injury to other drivers.” Manning added “They placed or may have placed each other at risk, but the commonwealth did not charge that.”
Manning also made it clear that while Maier’s bus may have had mechanical problems, her bus was out of control due to her own conduct saying, ” “If Ms. Maier couldn’t control the bus, the court finds it’s because she put herself in that predicament.”
Defense attorneys argued that Maier’s bus had a long history of problems and mechanical failures which led to the crash. “The defense presented a perfect storm of mechanical failures,” Manning said in his ruling.
Court documents and testimony indicated that neither driver had reported any problems with their buses prior to the accident.
Frauens admitted to police that he failed to conduct a required inspection of his bus before he left the garage a court document alleged.
Prosecutors argued that surveillance video taken from the buses show one driver gesturing to another to race, and it was the reckless conduct of both drivers that caused the crash.
Court documents alleged and Manning ruled, that as Frauens passed Maier he made several “horse whipping” type gestures, and Maier responded by increasing her speed and passing him, then swerved several times striking his bus and losing control of her bus.
When Frauens passed Maier he made “hand motions consistent with wanting to race,” police allege in a court document.
Frauens, court testimony alleged, initially told police that Maier’s bus never struck his however, subsequent investigation found evidence, including a cracked windshield that refuted his claim.
Both drivers were found guilty of reckless driving, careless driving, driving at an unsafe speed and several other summary traffic violations. Manning fined Frauens a total of $475 and Maier $250.
Frauens was found not guilty of a felony charge leaving the scene of an accident.
Both Frauens and Maier have been fired from the Port Authority, but attorneys for the pair say they plan to pursue getting their jobs back. Maier has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging she was fired for reporting mechanical problems with the bus.
“I loved my job, and I was good at it,” she said after the verdict.
Speaking with reporters after the verdicts were announced, Maier’s attorney Joel Sansone was quite vocal that the bus she operated was unsafe saying, “The worse news here is that Port Authority gets to hide. We heard from the experts that this bus was a death trap.”
Frauens said in a brief statement,“The last year and a half has been a nightmare. I just want to go back to work,”
Port Authority Spokesman Adam Brandolph said in an email “We would like to express our appreciation to District Attorney Zappala and his staff for their diligence in prosecuting this matter, as well as Judge Manning for presiding over the trial.”
Attorneys for both drivers said they plan to appeal the verdicts.
