Metro bus driver charged with negligence

P-I STAFF

A negligent driving charge has been filed against a former Metro bus driver for her role in an April collision that killed the driver of a car and injured a passenger.

A citation for second-degree negligent driving was filed against Sandie Olosky by the State Patrol on Tuesday in King County District Court in Kent, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The patrol filed the citation after prosecutors said they did not have enough information to charge Olosky, 35, with a felony.

Olosky had not yet entered a plea to the charge, considered a traffic infraction, so it is not clear whether a court hearing will be held, Donohoe said. Olosky did not return a telephone call Wednesday. Dan Wershow, one of her attorneys, declined immediate comment.

Olosky, who was fired from her Metro driving job, has until Dec. 26 to respond to the citation, which would subject her to a $250 fine if she is convicted.

Olosky, 35, was driving a bus that crossed the centerline of state Route 164 near Enumclaw in April and collided with two vehicles, hitting one of them head-on. The driver of that vehicle, Michael Dahlquist, 21, of Enumclaw was killed instantly. A passenger, Aaron Stingl, was injured.

The State Patrol report on the collision said Olosky reacted too late to avoid hitting a sport utility vehicle ahead of her, swerving left and clipping an SUV with the bus before hitting the pickup carrying Dahlquist and Stingl.

Claims totaling $106.7 million have been filed against King County in connection with the accident by Dahlquist's parents; Stingl; John Gillespie, driver of the SUV; and Gillespie's wife, Heather Gillespie.