Providence police have concluded their investigation into a public bus accident that resulted in the death of a nine-year old girl. Investigators do not believe the accident was the result of operator error by the bus driver.
The 42-year-old driver, Eric Seaberg, had more than a decade of experience working for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. He was heading west on Smith Street, when he struck 9-year-old Ani Emdijan last Thursday. The accident took place just blocks from the Statehouse, shortly before 9 in the morning. Emdijan was pronounced dead at Hasbro Children’s hospital.
Police concluded Seaberg was driving below the 25 mile-per hour speed limit, and that there were no mechanical failures with the bus. Preliminary results from a test for drugs and alcohol also came back negative.
Seaberg was placed on leave at the time of the accident. The driver of a fatal RIPTA accident that occurred last May in Providence has yet to return to work.
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