Manhattan Tour Bus Driver Convicted in Pedestrian Death

A former tour bus driver has been convicted of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in the 2011 death of a pedestrian in Manhattan.

The Manhattan district attorney's office says 60-year-old Steve Drappel was making a left turn onto Ninth Avenue in midtown when his bus struck the 29-year-old pedestrian, dragging the victim for half a block.

Prosecutors say police discovered a travel mug containing vodka beside the driver's seat and an open bottle of vodka stashed in a luggage compartment. They say the driver was found to have a blood alcohol content of .14 percent. The legal limit for commercial drivers is .04.

Drappel was also convicted on Wednesday of criminally negligent homicide. He's to be sentenced on Jan. 8.

A message left with Drappel's attorney was not immediately returned.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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