PSTA Bus Passenger's Death Under Investigation

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The St. Petersburg Police Department is investigating the death of a 91-year-old Largo man after his motorized scooter tipped over on a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus earlier this month.

According to the agency, the accident that is believed to have led to Henri J. Lussier’s death occurred around 10:17 a.m. March 4. Police say PTSA driver Gary Stephan Krueger, 60, was heading south on 72nd Street, approaching the intersection of 22nd Avenue North, at that time. Lussier, an email from the police department said, was sitting in his three-wheel mobility scooter in the handicapped area behind the driver.

“The scooter had been secured, front and back, with restraints to prevent it from rolling forward or backward,” the email said. “As the bus approached the intersection, the southbound light changed to yellow. Krueger entered the intersection under the yellow light, making his turn at a slightly excessive speed.”

In the middle of that turn, however, Lussier’s scooter tipped over. Lussier struck his chest and right arm on the seatbelt box on the right side of the floor, police said.

While Krueger stopped after the turn to check on Lussier, he never called police or his dispatcher, the police email said. Two passengers helped right Lussier’s scooter, the email said.

Lussier was on the bus at the time to go to Bay Pines VA for a doctor’s appointment, the email said. Once there, he went to the emergency room and was later transferred to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg as a trauma alert, police wrote. Lussier died on March 11 at 9:23 a.m. “as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash,” the email said.

Anyone who was on the bus at the time of the incident is asked to call the police department at 727-893-7780.

Image via Shutterstock

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