DOYLESTOWN TWP., Pa. — A Bucks County Transport bus driver has been charged with a felony in the August death of an 83-year-old man in Doylestown Township, District Attorney Joe Khan announced Monday. Khan said his office has also widened its investigation after a second fatal crash involving one of the company’s buses this month.
Blair R. Vanacore, 69, of Jamison, faces charges of accidents involving death or personal injury, a second-degree felony that carries a minimum of three years in state prison. He is also charged with failing to give information or render aid and with careless driving.
The charges are allegations, and Vanacore is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What prosecutors say happened
At about 8:54 p.m. on Aug. 12, Ronald James Davenport, 83, of Doylestown Township, was crossing the roadway at Grundy Hall, 1290 Almshouse Road, according to the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors say Vanacore was driving a 2024 Ford E450 Super Duty Bucks County Transport bus and failed to see Davenport. The bus struck him and knocked him to the ground. Prosecutors say the driver’s-side tire went onto Davenport and the bus stopped for a few seconds. When it moved forward again, the rear tire ran over him and he was dragged several feet. The bus then traveled about 25 to 35 more feet.
Vanacore got out, spoke briefly with Davenport and called 911. Prosecutors say he told the dispatcher only that someone had fallen in the parking lot and left out that the bus had struck the man. He gathered Davenport’s belongings, set them beside him and drove away before first responders arrived, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors say he gave no life-saving aid.
Doylestown Township police found Davenport in the roadway. Officers called Vanacore and told him to come back. Prosecutors say he later told police he thought he had run over a shoe. He also said he left because he would be in trouble with the company if the bus was not back at the depot by 10 p.m.
Davenport was taken to Abington Hospital and pronounced dead of multiple blunt force injuries.
Investigators reviewed the 911 audio, video from inside the bus and physical evidence. The DA’s crash reconstruction team also ran daytime and nighttime visibility tests, which prosecutors say confirmed Davenport was in plain view.
Second death at Doylestown library
On Nov. 2, at about 3 p.m., a Bucks County Transport bus struck and killed Katherine “Kitty” Semisch, 67, of Doylestown, according to the DA’s office. She was crossing the circle in front of the Bucks County Library at 150 S. Pine St. Semisch was a retired teacher at Central Bucks High School West.
Central Bucks Regional Police and the DA’s Crash Investigation Team are still investigating that crash. No charges have been announced.
“Both of them were run over by a vehicle that was owned and operated by Bucks County Transport,” Khan said. “We lost both of them, far too soon, under tragically similar circumstances.”
Company under review
Bucks County Transport Inc. is a private, nonprofit shared-ride service for seniors, people with disabilities and others who need transportation. It also operates the DART system in central Bucks County.
Bucks County Detectives are separately investigating the company, including its safety policies, driver training and hiring practices. According to the DA’s office, the company does not currently require its drivers to have a commercial driver’s license or prior commercial driving experience.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha D’Amore is prosecuting the case. Doylestown Township Police Detective Cpl. Chris Power and Plumstead Township Police Sgt. Jeffrey Moffett, a crash reconstructionist with the DA’s team, investigated.
