Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Metro bus driver charged with negligence

P-I STAFF

A negligent driving charge has been filed against a former Metro bus driver for her role in an April collision that killed the driver of a car and injured a passenger.

A citation for second-degree negligent driving was filed against Sandie Olosky by the State Patrol on Tuesday in King County District Court in Kent, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The patrol filed the citation after prosecutors said they did not have enough information to charge Olosky, 35, with a felony.

Olosky had not yet entered a plea to the charge, considered a traffic infraction, so it is not clear whether a court hearing will be held, Donohoe said. Olosky did not return a telephone call Wednesday. Dan Wershow, one of her attorneys, declined immediate comment.

Olosky, who was fired from her Metro driving job, has until Dec. 26 to respond to the citation, which would subject her to a $250 fine if she is convicted.

Olosky, 35, was driving a bus that crossed the centerline of state Route 164 near Enumclaw in April and collided with two vehicles, hitting one of them head-on. The driver of that vehicle, Michael Dahlquist, 21, of Enumclaw was killed instantly. A passenger, Aaron Stingl, was injured.

The State Patrol report on the collision said Olosky reacted too late to avoid hitting a sport utility vehicle ahead of her, swerving left and clipping an SUV with the bus before hitting the pickup carrying Dahlquist and Stingl.

Claims totaling $106.7 million have been filed against King County in connection with the accident by Dahlquist's parents; Stingl; John Gillespie, driver of the SUV; and Gillespie's wife, Heather Gillespie.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver Fame Charged with DUI

Velvet Revolver rocker Scott Weiland has been charged with driving under the influence after crashing his car last month.

The troubled star smashed his vehicle on a Los Angeles highway on November 21. Nobody was injured in the accident.

According to police, Weiland refused to take a blood or urine test and was arrested at the scene for "driving under the influence of a drug."
He was released after posting $40,000 bail and is due in court on 13 December (07).

Weiland, whose battle with hard drugs is well-documented, has previously been convicted of DUI in 2003 and for buying crack cocaine in 1995. He was charged with domestic violence in 2001.

Earlier this year, he hit the headlines again after his wife Mary was arrested on arson charges after setting fire to Weiland's clothes outside the couple's Toluca Lake, Calif., home following an argument with the rocker. She blamed her behavior on an imbalance in medications used to treat her bipolar disorder.

Man charged in nightclub shootings

P-I STAFF

A 21-year-old man, whom police identified in part through photographs on MySpace.com, has been charged with three counts of assault stemming from last month's shooting at Capitol Hill's Sugar nightclub.

Michael Anthony Bassett is accused of shooting three people inside the club at 916 E. Pike St. on Nov. 19, critically wounding one with a shot to the abdomen.

The club's owner shuttered Sugar, which was under scrutiny for rowdiness and faced a liquor license suspension for allowing minors into the club, the next day.

Witnesses told police that Bassett walked up behind victim Keith Russell and pushed him out on the dance floor, according to court documents.

Russell tried to break free, then witnesses saw muzzle flashes and heard gunshots. Russell was shot at least twice, a woman on the dance floor was hit in the leg and another man was struck in the wrist, according to police documents.

Bassett, an unemployed registered sex offender staying with his girlfriend near Puyallup, told police that he was at the club but denied any involvement in the shooting, documents say.