Driver and conductor charged with bus driver’s death

Following the death of a James Bus driver on Thursday, both the driver and the conductor of a Z-Line Bus were today charged with murder. But it appears that upon reconsideration the charges will be downgraded to manslaughter. According to Director of Public Prosecutions Adolf Lucas it would have been difficult for prosecutors to argue that there was an intent to kill on the part of either conductor Linford Williams or driver Vidal Tikas. Thirty-six year old Neville Ake, the driver for James Bus Service of Dangriga died moments after a fight aboard a Z-Line Bus near the Swasey Bridge. Passengers told police the two buses began racing and overtaking each other on the highway as soon as they left Punta Gorda. At one point the conductor of the Z-Line Bus, Linford Williams, made an obscene gesture at Ake as his bus overtook the bus driven by Tikas. A short while later Ake stopped his bus in the middle of the road to pick up a passenger, forcing the Z-Line Bus to stop behind them. Ake is reported to have then boarded the Z-Line Bus and started pulling Williams off. The driver, Vidal Tikas, is alleged to have kicked Ake in the chest, knocking him out of the bus. Witnesses say he hit his head and then lost consciousness. He died before the bus reached Independence. While neither admitting or denying that the buses regularly race along the Southern Highway, today Z-Line Bus Service issued a statement asking the Transport Authority to monitor the scheduling of buses leaving Punta Gorda. Z-Line says they and the James Bus Company agreed to a departure schedule at a meeting in September chaired by the Permanent Secretary and including the Commissioner of Transport. Since that time Z-Line says they have been abiding by the schedule. In a radio interview this morning, James Bus Company admitted that while they originally agreed to the schedule, they began losing money on the route and have not adhered to the agreement. Commissioner of Transport Jerome Wade told News Five there are negotiations underway with James and Z-Line to work out a schedule that satisfies both parties, but he cannot comment at this point on the details.