GRTC driver charged after hitting, killing bicyclist with bus in Henrico

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) driver is facing charges after she hit and killed a bicyclist with a bus in Henrico County in late October.

At about 6:46 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, officers with the Henrico County Police Division were called to W. Broad Street near the exit ramp to Interstate 64 and Forest Avenue for report of a bicyclist down in the roadway.

When they arrived, officers found 73-year-old Gerald Joseph Kopecky of Henrico down in the eastbound lanes with obvious signs of trauma. Investigators determined that Kopecky was riding his bicycle east on W. Broad Street when he and a GRTC bus collided.

Kopecky was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he died more than two weeks later on Saturday, Nov. 8.

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More than a month after his death, on Friday, Dec. 12, police announced that the GRTC bus driver involved in this crash -- 48-year-old Hope Chamel Macklin of Richmond -- has been charged.

Macklin is facing two charges. The first is careless driving and infliction of injury or death on a vulnerable road user.

She is also accused of violating Virginia law regarding the safe passing of bicycles, which police described as follows: "Any driver of any motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a reasonable speed at least three feet to the left of the overtaken bicycle."

No additional information is available as of the time of reporting.

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The investigation into this deadly crash continues. If you have any information on this incident, you are asked to contact the Henrico County Police Division at 804-501-5000.