Hit-And-Run Felony Charges Filed Against Bus Driver In Death Of Doylestown Man

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced hit-and-run felony charges on Monday against the driver of a Bucks County Transport bus who struck and killed an 83-year-old man in August in the parking lot of Grundy Hall.

During a press conference at the Justice Center in Doylestown, District Attorney Joe Khan detailed charges against the driver involved in the August fatality, while announcing an investigation into Bucks County Transport, Inc., for two fatal pedestrian accidents in less than three months.

In the August 12 crash, Blair R. Vanacore, 69, of Jamison, is charged with accidents involving death or personal injury, a felony of the second degree that carries a minimum sentence of three years in state prison. Additionally, he is charged with careless driving and failing to give information or render aid.

The DA said Vanacore was behind the wheel of the bus when he struck Ronald Davenport, who was crossing the parking lot at Grundy Hall when the accident occurred around 9 p.m. on August 12.

Doylestown Township officers arrived on scene after receiving an initial 911 call reporting a fall victim and discovered Davenport lying in the road with severe injuries. Officers were notified that the victim’s injuries were caused by a bus that had already left the area. Police contacted Vanacore, who was the driver of the bus, and instructed him to return to the scene.

The investigation revealed that Vanacore was driving a 2024 Ford E450 Super Duty Bucks County Transport bus when he failed to see Davenport in the roadway, striking the victim and knocking him to the ground.

Investigators said the driver-side tire then struck Davenport, causing the heavy bus to lurch up in the air and come to a stop for a couple of seconds. After pausing, the bus continued forward, and the rear driver-side tire ran over the victim.

Davenport was trapped and dragged underneath the bus for several feet before becoming dislodged and rolling out from underneath, after which the vehicle continued traveling another 25 to 35 feet before coming to a final stop, investigators said.

Bucks County Transport, a private company that provides transportation services around the county and operates the DART system in Central Bucks County, does not currently require drivers to have prior commercial driving experience or a commercial driver’s license, the DA's office said.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Vanacore got out of the bus, observed Davenport severely injured on the ground, and briefly spoke with him. Vanacore then placed a 911 call and gathered the victim's belongings, placing them next to him.

But investigators said rather than rendering life-saving aid or waiting for first responders, Vanacore left the scene before emergency services arrived. He later told police he felt he had to leave because he needed to return the bus to the storage depot by 10 p.m.

Davenport was transported to Abington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from multiple blunt force injuries.

Investigators reviewed 911 audio recordings, in-bus video footage, and physical evidence from the scene. In his initial 911 call, Vanacore informed dispatchers only that “someone fell in the parking lot,” deliberately omitting that he had struck the victim with his bus, the DA's office said.

The crash reconstruction team also completed both daytime and nighttime visibility testing as part of the investigation to confirm the victim was in plain sight.

At the start of his press conference, the DA observed a moment of silence for Davenport and for Katherine "Kitty" Semisch of Doylestown, who was struck and killed last Monday by a DART bus.

Ronald James Davenport, 83, of Doylestown Township, was a graduate of Neshaminy High School. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather whose family was the center of his world, said the DA. After retiring from a successful career in sales, he remained active in his church.

The Bucks County DA's office continues to investigate the death of Katherine "Kitty" Semisch, 67, who was struck by a DART bus at the Doylestown Branch of the Bucks County Free Library.

Semisch was a retired teacher at Central Bucks High School West and a beloved community fixture whose enormous presence and dedication left an indelible mark throughout Central Bucks.

“Ronald and Kitty are remembered not just for the lives that they lived and the lives they touched here in Bucks County and for being exemplary pillars of our community; they are joined by tragedy because we lost both of them, far too soon, under tragically similar circumstances, being outside in the drop-off areas at institutions we know well," said Khan. "Both of them were run over by a vehicle that was owned and operated by Bucks County Transport.”

Khan said his office is now investigating Bucks County Transport "to figure out what exactly was going on with this company at the time of these deaths, what policies were in place that need to be reviewed, and that we have done everything the people of Bucks County deserve to ensure that we're not up here again with a third photograph of someone who gets taken from our community."