Former RTA driver begins jail sentence for hitting, killing woman in crosswalk

A former RTA bus driver who hit and killed a woman in a crosswalk last year in downtown Dayton on Tuesday began serving a 30-day jail sentence.

Sean A. Belyeu, 54, of Clayton, arrived Tuesday morning at the Montgomery County Jail to begin serving his sentence after he pleaded guilty March 30 to vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor, in Dayton Municipal Court.

Belyeu was driving an RTA bus north on South Wilkinson Street shortly before 7 a.m. March 10, 2020, when he made a left turn onto West Third Street and “failed to yield the right of way” to a pedestrian in the crosswalk walking north across West Third Street, according to a Dayton Police Department crash report.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

The pedestrian, 56-year-old Lynn C. Willis of Beavercreek Twp., was headed to her job at the Social Security Administration office at the Federal Courthouse when she was hit. She succumbed to her injuries.

Before sentencing, Belyeu said he took full responsibility for the crash and expressed deep regret for the crash, saying there’s not a day he doesn’t think about Willis’ husband, Woody and the loss he suffered. “My heart goes out to Mr. Willis, the family and anyone that came into contact with Mrs. Willis, co-workers, friends, just anybody that had the ability to be around a woman of such stature,” he said.

Belyeu also had his driver’s license suspended for a year and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

Staff Writer Parker Perry contributed to this report.

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