The bus driver accused of fatally running over a 70-year-old woman while on his way back to the depot and not stopping was held in lieu of $25,000 bond during his arraignment Wednesday, as new information about the gruesome accident came to light, authorities said.
Paul Roper, 48, was charged with several offenses, including leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it resulting in serious injury or death, according to the criminal complaint.
Roper, an MTA driver since 2000, is accused of hitting Carol Bell with the bus as she was crossing Fulton Street by Sackman Street at about 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday, authorities said. He then allegedly stopped the bus for a couple of seconds, before swerving away from where Bell lay with her insides exposed and “body severely mangled,” according to the complaint.
Surveillance video of the incident showed the bus strike Bell, who lived a block away, with its front bumper and then drive over her, court records showed. A witness heard a loud bang and a crushing sound before the bus drove off.
Roper was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation, an MTA spokesman said Tuesday.
An attorney for Roper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 9.
