Pittsburgh to settle with family of couple killed in 2015 bus accident

April 10--Pittsburgh is poised to pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a couple killed in 2015 when a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus ran them over in the Hill District.

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday introduced a bill that would authorize the payment. Council is expected to schedule a vote after consulting the Law Department.

Christine Williamson, 68, and her husband Henry "Hank" Walker, 73, had just gotten off a bus on Centre Avenue and were crossing Allequippa Street on Oct. 26, 2015, when an SUV turned from Allequippa Street onto Centre Avenue, striking Walker in a motorized wheelchair and pushing him and the chair under the bus.

Williamson tried to help Walker, and the two were fatally run over by the bus as it pulled away.

"It was horrible," said Downtown attorney Alan Perer, who represents the couple's children, Desiree Williamson of Penn Hills and Dorothy Williamson of Wilkinsburg. "One of the reasons we agreed to settle was because, finally after this accident, the city accepted all of our expert opinions about how dangerous this intersection was, and they totally redid it. My clients feel that they accomplished something where nobody is ever going to get killed or injured again at that intersection."

Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto, declined comment.

Port Authority last year approved a $450,000 settlement with the Williamsons. State Farm Insurance, which provided coverage for the SUV driver, paid them $200,000, according to Perer.

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312, [email protected] or on Twitter @bobbauder.

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