Family of Pitt student killed by Port Authority bus will get $500,000 settlement

By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The family of a University of Pittsburgh student who was killed in 2020 when she was struck by a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus will receive a $500,000 settlement from the agency.

Barbara Como died Jan. 18, 2020, after she was struck crossing DeSoto Street by a bus turning from Fifth Avenue. Como, 20, of Chester Springs, Pa., was a senior anthropology major who planned to be a research psychologist.

The authority's performance oversight committee Thursday recommended the full board settle a personal injury claim filed by Como's estate when it meets Jan. 28. Mike Cetra, the authority's chief legal officer, said the settlement is the agency's maximum liability under state law.

The bus driver in the incident, Shavonne James, pleaded guilty in January 2021 to involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person. Police said in the criminal complaint that James picked up a passenger at an undesignated stop and, while the passenger was still blocking her view of mirrors, turned into the intersection and struck Como, which is a violation of federal regulations for bus drivers.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alexander P. Bicket sentenced James to three years of probation. She no longer works for Port Authority.

The original article can be viewed here [metered paywall]

Ed Blazina: [email protected], 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.

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