Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Brownsville

MTA Bus Driver Pleads Guilty in Deadly Brooklyn Hit-and-Run Crash

MTA bus driver Paul Roper pled guilty last week to fatally striking 70-year-old Carol Bell and leaving the scene in Brooklyn in November 2015. Image: WNBC via @BrooklynSpoke

An MTA bus driver who killed a senior in Brooklyn last year pled guilty to leaving the scene and violating the victim's right of way.

[Update: Roper was sentenced to five years probation and fined $2,100 -- $2,000 for leaving the scene and $100 for violating the victim's right of way -- according to court records. The Daily News reported that he was fired from his job driving an MTA bus.]

Paul Roper hit 70-year-old Carol Bell as she crossed Fulton Street at Sackman Street on November 3, 2015. Video showed Roper strike Bell, who was using a walker, while making a left turn. Reports said Roper briefly stopped the out-of-service bus after hitting Bell before driving away.

Investigators tracked the bus to the East New York Bus Depot. Though NYPD declared “no criminality” before locating Roper, police eventually charged him with leaving the scene, failure to yield, and careless driving.

The crash happened soon after City Hall reached a settlement in a suit filed by the Transport Workers Union, which spent much of 2015 trying to gut the Right of Way Law. The settlement served to clarify the law, but the TWU said it was proof that bus drivers were wrongly arrested for killing people who were following traffic rules.

MTA bus drivers killed four pedestrians over the course of November and December of last year, and have killed at least two people walking in 2016.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Pedestrian on Bedford Av. Hours Before Long-Stalled Safety Redesign Begins

The driver was traveling so quickly that the victim was tossed high in the air before landing back on the car hood and being tossed to the side of the road as the killer drove off.

October 11, 2024

Manhattanites To DOT: Open Queensboro Bridge Pedestrian Path ‘Without Delay’

"It’s really inappropriate for the DOT to delay," said one member of Manhattan Community Board 6.

October 11, 2024

Council Seeks to Force DOT to Build 175 E-Bike Charging Hubs 

A new bill would force the DOT to build over 100 charging hubs, but will it be enough to keep up with demand?

October 11, 2024

Friday Video: A Vision for West 72nd Street

Maybe someday, a roadway that devotes 88 percent of its space to a tiny minority of users (drivers) could finally work for everyone. We can dream, can't we?

October 11, 2024

Friday’s Headlines: Yes, We Will Mention the Yankees Edition

We are praying for the first Subway Series since 2000. Plus other news.

October 11, 2024
See all posts