Tour bus driver on phone at time of crash that killed Alaskan city mayor, DC police say
WASHINGTON - A tour bus driver was on his cellphone when he struck and killed the mayor of an Alaskan city and her elderly mother when they tried to cross a Northwest D.C., according to officials.
Investigators say 61-year-old Monica Adams Carlson and her 85-year-old mother, Cora Louise Adams, were in the crosswalk at 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the National Archives building when a tour bus making a turn struck them on Dec. 19.
Carlson was the mayor of Skagway, Alaska - a small town about 100 miles north of the state's capital, Juneau.
Police announced on Thursday that they had charged 45-year-old Gerard Derrick James of Baltimore with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly crash. Charging documents allege that James was using his cellphone at the time the bus struck Carlson and Adams.
The municipality of Skagway released a statement to FOX 5 following the incident:
"The staff and borough assembly of the Municipality of Skagway are extremely saddened to have learned that Mayor Monica Carlson and her mother were involved in a tragic accident in Washington D.C. last night and did not recover from their injuries. The Municipality does not have any further details at this time. We ask that the family's privacy is respected through this grieving process. This is a devastating loss to Monica's family, friends, and community."