School Bus Accident Victim Identified

A veteran bus driver apparently tried tll he could to avoid hitting a 57-year-old Greenwich woman this week as she crossed Glenville Road at the Lake Avenue rotary.

Sgt. John Slusarz, head of the Greenwich Police Traffic Section, said, "There are signs of him braking and making evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting her. The tire marks indicate he was traveling at or below the speed limit which is 20 or 25 mph going around the circle."

Dolores Nieto-DeFlores, 57, of Woodland Drive, Greenwich, was struck at about 4 p.m. Sept. 24 as she crossed from the north side of Glenville Road to the south side of the road, at the entrance to the private neighborhood of Rockridge. Slusarz said she remains in the Intensive Care Unit of Stamford Hospital for treatment of several non-life-threatening injuries including a head injury, suffered when she fell to the pavement.

The driver was identified as Gilbert Hodge, 71, of The Bronx, NY. Slusarz said he was an employee of the school bus company East End Bus Lines which provides service to a private Greenwich School. "He's been driving buses for quite some time and has a clean record," Slusarz said.

"The line of sight, the woman's height and the traffic, were all contributing factors to the collision," Slusarz said.

Slusarz said police will not release the name of the school. There were five students aboard the 15-passenger bus. They were not injured. "We don't want to traumatize them," Slusarz said.

Slusarz said charges will not be filed against Hodge and that the investigation is continuing into whether charges will be filed against Nieto-DeFlores. There are two crosswalks in the traffic circle - at the intersection with Dearfield Drive and with Lake Avenue.

Slusarz said, "There isn't any sidewalk on either side of the road. Until that changes, I don't see any changes" in creating a crosswalk. "One collision isn't going to change that."