The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the August hit and run death of an 83-year-old Doylestown Township man who was struck by a Bucks County Transit bus.
But an attorney representing the the family of the victim, Ronald Davenport, says they are troubled about authorities failure to publicly release information about the August accident in the parking lot of Grundy Hall, a county-owned senior community off Easton Road where Davenport and his wife lived.
Doylestown Township Police Chief Charles Zeigler did not respond to an Oct. 15 email seeking information. The department has not issued a press release about the accident.
Bucks County District Attorney spokesman Manuel Gamiz confirmed an active investigation is underway and
declined further comment.
A Philadelphia law firm representing the Davenport family recently released a statement about the accident hoping that it would prompt anyone who witnessed it or who has other information to come forward, said David Kwass an attorney with Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky.
The accident occurred around 9 p.m. on Aug. 12 as Davenport was crossing an area from Grundy Hall to the complex’s parking lot. He was allegedly struck by a Bucks County Transport bus that was returning to the complex after taking residents to a nearby concert, Kwass said.
The family believed the bus was chartered specifically for this event because it was operating outside its regular DART bus schedule, which ended three hours earlier, Kwass said.
The firm’s investigation has alleged that the bus driver struck Davenport, dragged his body for a short distance, then ran over him a second time, Kwass said. The driver then allegedly stopped, got out of the bus, made a cellphone call, and attempted to speak to Davenport, Kwass said.
The driver then left the scene a few minutes after the accident, and before police and emergency services arrived, Kwass said the firm’s investigation found.
Davenport was transported to Abington Hospital where he was pronounced dead; an autopsy ruled the death as accidental, the result of multiple blunt force injuries.
So far, the firm has determined that at the time the accident occurred the rear emergency door of the bus was open and it was closed after the driver allegedly ran over Davenport, Kwass said.
The identity of the involved driver has not been released by police, the DA’s office or the private transportation company, Kwass said.
The Davenport family released a statement because they are troubled at the lack of publicity about the accident, Kwass said.
““It’s been two months and (authorities) haven’t spoken (to the public), and minimally to the family,” he added.
Ronald Davenport was a lifelong Bucks County resident who was retired from a long career in sales and was helping his son with his construction business, Kwass said. He and his wife, Dorothy, were married 60 years, and had moved into Grundy Hall in July.
The Davenport family is asking anyone with information about the August 12 fatal accident or about Bucks County Transport buses at Grundy Hall, to contact attorney David L. Kwass at 215-575-2978 or dkwass@smbb.com
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Doylestown Twp police silent on fatal accident at Grundy Hall
