UConn bus driver to take plea deal

HARTFORD, Conn. - March 02, 2012 (WPVI) -- A University of Connecticut shuttle bus driver accused of running over and killing a fellow student in a campus crosswalk last year will be taking a plea deal, his lawyer said Friday.

Lukasz Gilewski, 22, of Newington, will be entering a plea Monday in Rockville Superior Court, attorney Hope Seeley told The Associated Press on Friday. She declined to comment on what kind of plea will be made or provide any other details.

Tolland State's Attorney Matthew Gedansky declined to comment. Gilewski didn't return a phone message left at his home Friday.

Gilewski is charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and failing to yield to a pedestrian in the March 22 accident that killed 20-year-old David Plamondon of Westminster, Mass. UConn police said Gilewski was also a student, and he was authorized to drive shuttle buses.

Plamondon was struck in a pedestrian crosswalk at a campus intersection at about 8 p.m. Family members said he was a junior majoring in physiology and neurobiology and planned to go to medical school.

UConn officials said Plamondon was a well-liked and free-spirited student who founded a charity called Silver Wings for various causes. He was a member of a student a cappella group and worked with the university's community outreach office.

Relatives said Plamondon also was a gifted athlete who had played semi-pro baseball for the Lunenburg Phillies in Massachusetts.

Police said Gilewski was driving under the 25 mph speed limit and wasn't under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. But police said Gilewski waved to another bus driver shortly before the bus struck Plamondon.

Plamondon's parents, George and Linda Plamondon, are suing Gilewski and the state over the accident. They didn't return a phone message Friday.

The negligent homicide charge is a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in prison.

Get more National/World »

connecticut, trial, national/world

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•