On Christmas Day, a Milwaukee bus driver dozed off at the wheel, leading to a tragic incident where he struck and fatally dragged an elderly pedestrian for a block, all in front of the victim’s grandson.
Montrell Pharm, 53, received a two-year prison sentence after prosecutors presented evidence in court on Thursday. The footage displayed the former Milwaukee County Transit System driver nodding off before colliding with 79-year-old Robert Clemons around 11 p.m. on December 25, 2024.
As reported by Fox6 Now, the video captured the bus veering into a row of parked cars before striking Clemons and his grandson, who were attempting to fix their truck in the street.
Both were hit, and Clemons was dragged beneath the bus. Meanwhile, his grandson, unable to keep up due to a broken arm and leg, desperately chased after the vehicle.
Fortunately, another bystander managed to alert the driver, bringing the bus to a halt approximately a block away.
Upon arrival, police officers observed a blood trail leading diagonally to the spot where the bus had eventually stopped.
When police arrived, an officer saw a trail of blood “that led on an angle to where the bus had stopped.”
“The bus was observed to have damage to its front end and had a broken passenger side windshield,” the officer noted in the complaint.
Clemons was pulled out from under the bus by first responders and declared dead at the scene.
Video on board the bus that night showed Pharm sleeping or closing his eyes both even while the bus was moving.
Pharm told police that he had been working 14-hour days since Monday, Dec. 22, and was working on just six hours of sleep the night before the accident.
He claimed was “looking straight ahead, and he had a clear path, and that he was good” before he suddenly felt the impact.
Pharm pleaded no contest on Jan. 20 to charges of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
In addition to two years in prison, Pharm was also sentenced to an additional three years of extended supervision upon his release.
“There aren’t enough words to say to begin to heal your pain,” Pharm told the victim’s family in a statement.
“I pray and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. This was an unintentional accident.”
