Remembering NJ Transit Victim Thomas who was killed by their deadly bus driver
NJ Transit bus driver charged with killing passenger and covering it up
An NJ Transit bus driver fatally ran down a passenger whom she first dragged down the street with his arm in the door — and she later lied on her report and tried to flee the country, authorities said.
Fayola Howard, 34, was wanted for vehicular homicide since Jan. 31, and cops finally caught up to her Tuesday at Newark Liberty International Airport as she tried to flee the county, according to authorities and court papers.
Police sources said Howard was trying to escape to Trinidad, though the Caribbean island nation has an extradition agreement with the US.
Court records obtained by The Post, which were filed in Essex County Superior Court late last month, paint a portrait of a cold-blooded bus driver who ignored pleas for help from passenger Kevin Thomas and tried to hide the events that led up to the Newark man’s gruesome death.
Howard is accused of closing the NJ Transit bus’ front door on Thomas’ forearm as he tried to re-enter the bus with his female friend, who had hopped back on to grab personal items she had left behind, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Thomas “shouted at the driver to let him on, and the driver shouted back at him” as the 55-year-old man ran alongside the bus on Sanford Avenue in Newark, the court docs say.
Moments later, Thomas wiggled free — but the bus cut him off as it turned right at Vernon Place, knocking him to the ground and running him over, the papers say.
“As passengers screamed, and another vehicle in traffic attempted to flag the driver … down to stop,” Howard ignored their cries and continued driving, according to the affidavit.
Thomas died a week later from his injuries, authorities said.
When the bus driver filed her report, she left out that Thomas had his arm stuck in the door and “stated that she avoided contact with him as he ran alongside the bus,” the court papers say.
Howard, who started driving for the transit agency in August 2016, was pulled from her routes after the incident, an NJ Transit spokeswoman said. It was unclear if the bus driver remained on the payroll.
An attorney for Howard could not immediately be reached.
Howard also is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with records, records show.
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