Kingston police charge city bus driver following death of pedestrian

Kingston police have charged a Kingston Transit bus driver under the Highway Traffic Act with failure to yield to a pedestrian, following a tragic incident involving a pedestrian.

Police said it happened at around 7:15 a.m. on Nov. 3rd.

The bus was going west on John Counter Boulevard. As the bus turned left onto Leroy Grant Drive, it struck a pedestrian who was crossing at the intersection.

Andrew Serres, 32, died at the scene.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr. Serres during this difficult time. We will confirm that the driver has not yet returned to work but beyond that, the city does not speak publicly about personnel matters,” said the City of Kingston in a statement.

Brandon Claybourne went to elementary and high school with Serres.

As soon as he heard the news of Serres’ death, he dug up his 1999 Calvin Park Public School yearbook to reminisce about his childhood friend.

“He was the health conscious one of the group. The anti-smoker,” said Claybourne. “He was picking on everybody, like ‘don’t do this, don’t do that.’ He was into sports and activities. Always wanted to race his friends because he knew he could beat them”

While he was shocked and hurt to hear about the incident, he wants people to remember Serres for the kind person he was and not the accident that took his life.

“Accidents happen. It’s unfortunate but you can’t say that there’s something more you could have done. Cross the road with him? It’s just really unfortunate,” said Claybourne.

Claybourne said his thoughts and prayers go out to the Serres family.