The Associated Press
BENTON, Ill. — The driver of a Greyhound bus that struck and killed a southern Illinois firefighter has been sentenced to two years of probation as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Sammie Rogers of Chicago entered an Alford plea Wednesday in Franklin County to misdemeanor reckless driving. Prosecutors dropped a reckless homicide count.
Under such a plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction.
Authorities say the bus hit volunteer Sesser firefighter James Miller on Interstate Highway 57 in July 2007. The 43-year-old Miller had just helped douse a tractor-trailer blaze along the freeway.
Rogers and the bus passengers weren’t hurt.
The prosecutor says he agreed to the plea deal at the behest of the victim’s widow.