Woman Arrested Over Claim That Bus Hit Stroller

Metro Transit Police have arrested a 52-year-old District woman and charged her with filing a false report after she told police in February that a Metrobus struck the stroller she was pushing in Southwest Washington and injured a 3-year-old child.

The woman, Cheryl Rousseau, told authorities the incident took place Feb. 24. At the time, there was widespread media coverage of three Metrobus accidents in January and February in which four pedestrians were killed.

Metro officials said Rousseau was arrested Wednesday after a police investigation determined that the incident did not happen.

According to charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court, Rousseau, of the unit block of N Street SW, told D.C. police that she was waiting for the 70 Metrobus to Silver Spring at Half Street SW near O Street about 4:50 p.m. She said she tried to stop the bus by banging on the door, according to the documents, and the bus struck the stroller, knocking it over and injuring the child.

But two witnesses told Metro detectives that the bus didn't make contact with the stroller, according to the court papers. Both said Rousseau had let go of the stroller, "which rolled into the street and fell over," injuring the child. One witness reported hearing Rousseau say she was angry because the bus failed to wait for her.

That witness told police of hearing Rousseau say: "The bus operator is going to pay for this; we are going to get some money."

Metro officials said that when Rousseau boarded the next bus that came along, she told the driver that the previous 70 bus had struck the stroller. The driver notified the Metrobus operations control center, and police were dispatched to investigate.

D.C. police and Metro officials gave conflicting accounts of Rousseau's relationship to the child. The charging documents say Rousseau is the child's grandmother. Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said the child is not related to Rousseau.

The girl was taken to Children's Hospital and released.

If convicted, Rousseau faces a maximum penalty of a $300 fine and 30 days in jail, Asato said.

Staff writer Henri E. Cauvin contributed to this report.