A bus driver from Wisconsin has been sentenced to two years in prison for a tragic incident where he fell asleep behind the wheel and fatally injured a 79-year-old man on Christmas Day.

Montrell Pharm, aged 53, entered a no-contest plea in late January to charges of negligent homicide and reckless driving that resulted in significant bodily harm, according to court documentation.

Milwaukee County Court Judge David Swanson handed down the sentence on Thursday, ruling that Pharm will serve two years for each charge, but they will be served concurrently. After his prison term, Pharm will be under extended supervision for three years, following the incident which claimed the life of Robert Clemons in 2024.

The tragic event unfolded just after 11 p.m. when Milwaukee Police were alerted to a fatal accident at North 47th Street and Villard Avenue, as detailed in a criminal complaint reported by Milwaukee’s Fox affiliate WITI.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers discovered a bus and a truck both showing signs of collision damage. The scene was further marred by a trail of blood leading towards the bus, which bore damage to its front end and a shattered passenger side windshield, police reports indicated.

Investigators learned from the truck’s owner, who was present at the scene, that the victim was his grandfather, Robert Clemons. The two men had been engaged in repairs on the truck, which was parked on the street when the accident occurred.

At the time of the crash, the pair was walking on the driver’s side of the truck when the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus slammed into them and their vehicles, according to the complaint.

Clemons was run over and killed. His grandson rushed over, in vain, to try to get the driver to stop because the victim was still “under the bus” as it moved, according to the complaint.

Due to his own injuries from the crash, however, the grandson was quickly fatigued – though other pedestrians were able to flag the bus down and eventually get it to finally stop roughly a block away.

Clemons died in the street after being removed from the bus, police said.

Investigators later reviewed footage from a camera mounted onboard the MCTS bus, according to the charging document. That footage showed the bus primarily driving in a bike lane, then crashing into one of the parked vehicles and pushing it into the other vehicle before striking a pedestrian, police allege. Then the bus is seen veering out of the bike lane and into the main lane, briefly stopping and starting up again before parking near the corner of North 48th Street and Villard.

A second camera on the bus facing the driver showed Pharm repeatedly closing his eyes or falling asleep, while the bus was stopped and while it was moving, according to law enforcement.

This second collection of footage also showed the defendant making slight adjustments on the steering wheel with his eyes closed, police said. At one point, Pharm was seen being pushed forward as the driver’s compartment appeared to shake. Then, the driver is seen taking the steering wheel again, stopping the bus, starting forward again, and then pulling the parking brake, according to the complaint.

During a custodial interview, Pharm described a four-day series of 14-hour shifts with one 8 1/2-hour shift in between. The night before the incident, the defendant allegedly said he had slept only six hours.

Still, Pharm said he recalled “looking straight ahead, and he had a clear path, and that he was good,” according to the complaint. The driver allegedly said he felt ashamed about what happened and suggested the impact came out of nowhere. At the same time, Pharm made various health-related comments, asserting that he is “pre-diabetic” but lacks health insurance and is not properly medicated, offering the idea that his body might have simply shut down that night.

The defendant lost his job with the MCTS shortly after the fatal crash.

During his sentencing hearing, Pharm appeared contrite, according to a courtroom report by Milwaukee-based ABC affiliate WISN.

“There aren’t enough words to say to begin to heal your pain,” the defendant said, addressing the victim’s family. “I pray and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. This was an unintentional accident.”

The state showed the video of Pharm with his eyes closed on Thursday.

“What is concerning from the state’s perspective, among other things, is there isn’t a movement to get out of the vehicle to check to see what has gone on. ‘Have I hit a person?’” a prosecutor said.