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Port Authority Bus Driver Facing Involuntary Manslaughter Charge In Death Of 20-Year-Old Pitt Student

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Charges have been filed against a Port Authority bus driver accused of causing the crash that killed a Pitt student.

Shavonne James is facing involuntary manslaughter and other charges for allegedly hitting and killing 20-year-old Barbara Como in January.

barbara-como
Photo Credit: University of Pittsburgh/LinkedIn

According to the criminal complaint, Shavonne James made a right turn onto De Soto Street in Oakland without yielding to pedestrians in the marked crosswalk.

Investigators say the pedestrians in the cross walk -- Como and two others -- had the walk sign.

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James allegedly had just picked up a passenger at a non-designated bus stop. That passenger, according to court paperwork, didn't get behind the stop line while the bus was in motion, blocking the mirrors on the bus.

Police say James operating the bus unsafely was a direct cause of the crash.

Como, from Chester Springs, Pa., was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition and later died. She was an undergraduate research assistant with the Learning Research and Development Center.

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