CATS driver left disabled man in locked bus for 90 minutes | WFAE 90.7
A Charlotte area transit system disabled bus driver locked a passenger in his bus for about 90 minutes earlier this month, according to a transit system investigation obtained by the WFAE .
CATS said this week that the driver, Kimberlee Burch-Brown, is no longer part of the public transit system.
Burch-Brown worked for CATS Special Transportation Services, which caters to people with disabilities who can’t take a regular bus.
An internal CATS investigation found that on October 3, Burch-Brown drove to a funeral on Beatties Ford Road during her lunch break and mistakenly left the passenger on the bus for approximately 90 minutes. She had locked the bus.
Security camera footage shows the passenger was sitting upright, visible to the driver before Burch-Brown exited the bus.
In its report, CATS said the driver “did not listen to other passengers on the bus when they told him there was another passenger who needed to be dropped off.” The report also states that she “failed to secure her bus by ensuring that all passengers were off the bus.”
After the man’s family called CATS to ask where he was, the transit system found him inside the bus.
The city did not respond to WFAE as to why CATS no longer employs the driver.