Insufficient evidence to charge bus driver in 2013 fatal collision on Kirkland overpass

Published 3:49 pm Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The King County Prosecutor’s Office has declined to move forward with vehicular homicide charges due to insufficient evidence against a Sound Transit bus driver. The man caused a collision that killed two people in Kirkland last year on an overpass in the Totem Lake neighborhood.

The  May 6, 2013 collision occurred when Sound Transit bus Aleksandr Rukhlin, 56, failed to stop for a red light after exiting a freeway exit ramp. The bus traveled through an intersection and collided with a Ford Escape. Two passengers in the Ford Escape, Robert and Elizabeth Rotta, were killed, and their son Kendall Rotta was injured.

After the collision, the bus continued forward down an onramp toward Interstate 405. At this point, Rukhlin told one passenger that he “has no brakes.” A follow-up investigation, however, determined there was no mechanical issue with the bus or the brakes. Collision reconstruction and an examination of computers on the bus indicate that the driver applied the accelerator before and after the crash.

Rukhlin was interviewed after the collision and found to have no sign of impairment, and a blood draw found no drugs or alcohol.

“Despite a thorough investigation, the reasons for Rukhlin’s driving through the red light remain uncertain,” King County Prosecutor Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe wrote in a press release. “There is no evidence that Rukhlin was deliberately attempting to run the light. There is no evidence that prior to the collision that he was aware that his speed was unusually fast or he was intentionally speeding.”

The case was later submitted for review of a felony hit and run charge due to the fact that the bus did not stop for nearly a mile after the collision, but the charges were later declined, as there was no evidence Rukhlin was attempting to flee from the scene.

Immediately after the collision, he claimed, he could not get the bus to stop. Only with the assistance of the passenger did he say he could get the bus to stop.

Charges of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault can only be filed when there is sufficient credible evidence to support the impairment from drugs or alcohol, driving in a reckless manner or driving with disregard for the safety of others, according to Donohoe.

Reckless manner requires proof that the defendant was driving “in a rash or heedless manner, indifferent to the consequences.” Reckless manner is described as knowingly dangerous driving that is seen when drivers are purposely weaving and/or speeding away from police or racing with other drivers or purposefully ignoring traffic signals and signs while engaging in other dangerous driving behavior.

“In the present case, there is no evidence that Rukhlin intended to go through the red light, or otherwise acted in a rash or heedless manner. Under these circumstances, the evidence is insufficient to support the reckless manner prong,” Donohoe wrote.

Although Donohoe states that they believed Rukhlin to have been negligent due to “pedal misapplication without any contributing factors” it “is not sufficient to establish vehicular homicide” and the “State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the negligence was aggravated, i.e., that Rukhlin consciously disregarded a dangerous situation.”

The case will be forwarded to King County District Court for the filing of infractions, according to Donohoe.

The family of the victims filed a lawsuit against the bus driver, as well as his employer, nearly a year ago. The complaint accused the bus driver of operating the bus in a “negligent or reckless fashion” and also alleges negligence of his employer, First Transit, Inc., for failing to properly hire, train and supervise Rukhlin.