BY ERICA PEARSON AND JONATHAN LEMIREDaily News Staff Writers
The bus driver who left a severely disabled Manhattan man inside a frigid vehicle overnight proclaimed his innocence Sunday even as new details emerged about his disturbing driving record and lengthy rap sheet.
Walter Gibbs, {Left, leaves his apartment at 263 West 142nd Street} an employee of Outstanding Transport, stepped off his bus in a lot in Brooklyn last Wednesday, leaving Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year-old with cerebral palsy, to shiver for more than 17 hours. "I'm not guilty," yelled Gibbs, 42, as he ran from reporters Sunday who gathered outside his Harlem apartment building.
Gibbs left Rivera on only his second day on the job. His license has been suspended 12 times since 1996, Department of Motor Vehicle records revealed Sunday. His license was also revoked in 1988 after he got into an accident and did not have insurance, according to the DMV records.
Gibbs has also been arrested 28 times, mostly on charges of drug possession and grand larceny, law enforcement officials said. He was also busted for assaulting a cop in November 2007. Although he has been repeatedly grilled by cops about Rivera, Gibbs has not been charged with a crime.
The bus matron on the vehicle, 51-year-old Linda Hockaday {Below, left walking out of the 25th precint) , has been arraigned on charges of reckless endangerment for ditching Rivera to attend a concert at her church.
According to the Outstanding Transport Web site, the company's drivers are "randomly drug-tested, fingerprinted, background-checked and with no criminal background."
"They all have excellent driving records and must maintain them," the site proclaimed. The company's owner, Charles Curcio, and a lawyer refused to comment.
Rivera, who has severe mental disabilities and cannot speak, was supposed to be dropped off at his family's East Harlem apartment after attending a special-needs class in SoHo on New Year's Eve.
Rivera was hospitalized for hypothermia after temperatures dropped to 15 degrees overnight. He remained at Brookdale University Hospital Sunday night.
Walter Gibbs, {Left, leaves his apartment at 263 West 142nd Street} an employee of Outstanding Transport, stepped off his bus in a lot in Brooklyn last Wednesday, leaving Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year-old with cerebral palsy, to shiver for more than 17 hours. "I'm not guilty," yelled Gibbs, 42, as he ran from reporters Sunday who gathered outside his Harlem apartment building.
Gibbs left Rivera on only his second day on the job. His license has been suspended 12 times since 1996, Department of Motor Vehicle records revealed Sunday. His license was also revoked in 1988 after he got into an accident and did not have insurance, according to the DMV records.
Gibbs has also been arrested 28 times, mostly on charges of drug possession and grand larceny, law enforcement officials said. He was also busted for assaulting a cop in November 2007. Although he has been repeatedly grilled by cops about Rivera, Gibbs has not been charged with a crime.
The bus matron on the vehicle, 51-year-old Linda Hockaday {Below, left walking out of the 25th precint) , has been arraigned on charges of reckless endangerment for ditching Rivera to attend a concert at her church.
According to the Outstanding Transport Web site, the company's drivers are "randomly drug-tested, fingerprinted, background-checked and with no criminal background.""They all have excellent driving records and must maintain them," the site proclaimed. The company's owner, Charles Curcio, and a lawyer refused to comment.
Rivera, who has severe mental disabilities and cannot speak, was supposed to be dropped off at his family's East Harlem apartment after attending a special-needs class in SoHo on New Year's Eve.
Rivera was hospitalized for hypothermia after temperatures dropped to 15 degrees overnight. He remained at Brookdale University Hospital Sunday night.
Keri Allen, {left} a member of the Christian Cultural Center,with her special needs daughter Britni Allen,18, who has Down Syndrome reacts to Linda Hockaday the bus driver who left the special needs boy on board her bus because she wanted to go to her church, the Christian Cultural Center.
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