After a woman was killed over the weekend while getting off a Jacksonville Transportation Authority bus in Mayport, the driver of the bus, whose personnel file shows he had previously hit a bicyclist, was terminated.
WJCT News partner News4Jax reports it wasn't the first time the JTA fired Jean Silney.
Following an internal administrative review of Saturday's deadly accident, Silney was fired for violating six rules in JTA's code of conduct.
According to JTA, the specific violations were:
- Failure to follow Standard Operating Procedure.
- Operators must devote full attention to the proper performance of their duties.
- Be constantly alert for anything that could injure someone.
- Don’t move until operators are sure no one is boarding or getting off.
- Displaying conduct unbecoming of an operator.
Silney had worked with JTA since 2007, according to his personnel file obtained Tuesday by News4Jax.
The incidents in his personnel file with JTA include:
- 2008: Written up for not wearing a seat belt.
- 2011: Being rude to a passenger.
- 2012: A passenger fell while boarding the bus and injured knee. Silney had not lowered the bus kneel.
- 2013: Silney struck a bicyclist in a crosswalk, knocking him off the bike, but didn’t run him over.
- 2014: Recognized for safe driving.
- 2016: Reprimanded for arguing with a passenger.
- 2018: Silney was terminated Dec. 20 for running too early (he returned to the bus yard about 25 minutes early at the end of the night) and nearly running over the foot of a supervisor who confronted him about it. By Jan. 16, 2019, a grievance was filed and he was rehired "with a heavy suspension."
The most recent incident was Saturday afternoon when police said a woman died after being run over by the bus. According to witnesses, Jeanie Rozar, 50, was getting off the bus when her arm got stuck in the door and ended up entangled in the bus’ tire.
An expanded version of this story that includes reaction from Rozar's family and their attorney is at News4Jax.com.
