WASHINGTON — The driver of a tour bus that struck and killed two tourists on Dec. 19 near the National Mall has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Gerard Derrick James, 45, of Baltimore, was arrested Thursday. He was behind the wheel when the bus made a left turn from 7th Street Northwest onto Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest at 9:39 p.m., striking both 61-year-old Monica Adams Carlson, of Skagway, Alaska, and her mother, 85-year-old Cora Louise Adams, of Elbe, Washington.
Carlson and Adams, who were both in the crosswalk, later died in a hospital.
Carlson was the mayor of Skagway and had been in D.C. with Adams to tour the White House as guests of Sen. Dan Sullivan. She had one more year in her term as mayor of Skagway, which is located about 100 miles north of Juneau.
Carlson had also worked as the director of tour operations for the Skagway Street Car Tour.
