Bus driver fired for hitting pedestrian

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A man who came to Albuquerque on vacation is still recovering from pain and financial ruin after being hit in a crosswalk by a city bus whose driver was called a danger by his supervisor.

On Sept. 16, 2008, Bryan Bullock and a friend were crossing Gold Avenue SW at 1st Street in downtown Albuquerque. Even though they had the light, an ABQ Ride bus turning from 1st Street hit Bullock from behind and grazed his friend.

Bullock refused treatment at the scene, but a couple of days later he checked into the hospital with a cracked skull, cracked shoulder, cracked ribs and other injuries. The accident was caught on the city Transportation Division’s own surveillance video.

“I don't remember hearing a bus; I don't remember a bus actually smacking me,” Bullock told KRQE News 13. “It could have killed both of us.”

Bullock spent a week in the hospital.

The driver who hit Bullock was Aldolph Reginald who had been handling city buses for a year before the crash. News 13 has learned his manager warned the top brass this driver was a risk on the road.

On a random ride-along Reginald’s supervisor reported having serious safety concerns. He wrote in a letter three months before the crash with Bullock,

“I really feel Mr. Reginald is a danger to this Department who may seriously injure himself or someone else," the supervisor wrote in a letter three months before the collision with Bullock.

ABQ Ride Director Greg Payne fired Bullock in February because of the crash and other disciplinary problems.

“Once we have fully vested city employees, sometimes we can have problems, and that's what happened with this particular driver," Payne said.

The union representing Reginald is fighting his dismissal.

In the meantime, Bullock wants the city to pay him about $200,000 to cover his medical bills. And he is ready to file a lawsuit to try and get the money.

The City Attorney’s Office says it’s looking into this case.

As for Bullock, he plans to leave town as soon as this case is over. Meanwhile he reflects on how life has changed in a year now that he is homeless, in debt and a little more leery about crossing the street.

“Let a bus hit you at seven o'clock in the morning and almost kill you," he said. "You’ll change your mind about what's important.”