RTD Driver Absolved in Bike Death

A Southern California Rapid Transit District bus driver arrested this month for allegedly running over and killing a fallen motorcycle rider in Canoga Park has been cleared of wrongdoing, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The police investigation into the Nov. 14 accident was hampered because four of the five passengers on the bus at the time gave false names, addresses or phone numbers to bus driver Teresa LaBarba, making it impossible for officers to interview them, said Deputy Dist. Atty. James A. Baker.

However, one passenger police did reach confirmed LaBarba’s version of the story, saying the bus ride was so rough and its interior so noisy that no one on board realized it had run over the fallen motorcyclist.

Baker said it was concluded that the victim, Eric Edwards, 20, of Canoga Park, was responsible for the accident.

Edwards was exceeding the speed limit as he drove between lanes on Topanga Boulevard near Canoga Park High School when he hit a brown van on his left and fell to the right under the wheels of the bus, Baker said. Riding between lanes on a motorcycle is legal.

In accordance with RTD regulations, LaBarba, an RTD driver for seven years, stopped after seeing Edwards fall and took statements from the five passengers, Baker said. She then radioed a dispatcher, who gave her permission to leave, he said.

Officers arrested her on suspicion of manslaughter. Police said she could also face hit-and-run charges, but Baker said the district attorney’s office has decided not to charge her.

“She has been completely cleared--she had no idea she ran over the motorcyclist,” Baker said.

But RTD officials dispute that the bus ran over Edwards.

“There’s a liability matter here,” said Jim Smart, an RTD spokesman. “We are not admitting that the bus ran over that gentleman.”