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Driver charged in GRTC bus crash that killed 73-year-old man on bike

GRTC bus driver charged after crash killing 73-year-old bicyclist
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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. β€” A bus driver has been charged after a crash that killed a 73-year-old cyclist, according to Henrico Police.

73-year-old Gerald Joseph Kopecky was struck while riding his bike on Broad Street around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22. At the time, police said that their preliminary investigation found Kopecky was riding his bike along Broad Street between Glenside Drive and Forest Avenue "when he collided with a GRTC bus."

Kopecky died about two weeks after the crash.

The driver of the bus, 48-year-old Hope Chamel Macklin, has been charged with:

  • Careless driving and infliction of injury or death on a vulnerable road user.
  • Any driver of any motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a reasonable speed at least three feet to the left of the overtaken bicycle.

Transit agency officials said the driver was not a GRTC employee, but works for a third-party operator who provides service for GRTC's CARE van Paratransit service.

"As this matter involves a contractor, GRTC cannot comment on the investigation," a spokesperson for the transit agency said.

Anyone with additional information about the crash is asked to call Henrico Crash Investigator C. Bolinger at 804-501-5000. You may also submit tips anonymously via Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000 or by using P3tips.com.

Click here to email the CBS 6 Newsroom.

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