84-Year-Old Who Fatally Stuck 6-Year-Old At Bus Stop Found Guilty

An 84-year-old woman from Raleigh has been ordered to pay a fine of $500 and surrender her driver’s license for a year after an accident this summer in which a 6-year-old suffered fatal personal injuries when she was struck at a school bus stop.

Geraldine Deitz was found guilty of misdemeanor death by vehicle and passing a stopped school bus. She has also been required to pay $130 in court costs and must undergo a medical review before her license can be reinstated, according to Assistant District Attorney Mark Stevens. A 45-day jail sentence was suspended, but she will have to serve 18 months of unsupervised probation.

In August, Green Elementary student Ashley Ramos-Hernandez was exiting a bus when she was struck by a sport utility vehicle driven by Deitz, according to police. Her death raised concerns about the safety of North Hills Drive, which is a wide, hilly, winding road upon which residents say drivers rarely obey the 35 mph speed limit.

Deitz entered a plea of not guilty, but offered no resistance to the charge and offered no evidence. Money from the fine will go to the Wake County school board.