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A former UTA bus driver accused of running down and killing a well-known Salt Lake City businessman nicknamed "Mr. Downtown" is headed to trial.
Cheryl Anne Kidd is facing two charges: Negligent operation of a motor vehicle causing personal injury and failure to yield the right of way at a cross walk. The first is a misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of six months in jail. The second is an infraction for which Kidd could not be incarcerated.
Kidd, 51, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During a pre-trial conference on Friday, attorneys told Salt Lake City Justice Court Judge L.G. Cutler they were ready to proceed with a three-day jury trial set to begin Nov. 19.
The case has lagged because Kidd's attorney sought a judge's order to invalidate a city's ordinance which makes simple negligence — the act of looking away or failing to pay attention while driving — a crime. A 3rd District judge upheld the ordinance in May.
Court papers say 82-year-old Richard Wirick, was struck and pinned under a Utah Transportation Authority bus while crossing the intersection of 400 South and 200 East when the traffic signal changed on Feb. 21, 2012.
Wirick had owned the Oxford Shop shoe store at 65 W. 100 South for six decades and was well-known in the community.
According to the documents, Kidd drove through the intersection, hitting Wirick as he crossed the far westbound lane of 400 South. Wirick was transported to a hospital, where he died later that day.
Kidd was fired by UTA a month after the incident.
Separately, a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Wirick's family was resolved through a settlement and dismissed in April. Terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed and attorneys for both the family and UTA declined to provide details on Friday.