Sleeping SMART Bus Driver Faces Up To 3 Months Behind Bars

DETROIT (WWJ) - A SMART bus driver has pleaded no contest to falling asleep at the wheel and causing a crash last October.

Leon Rasheed, 65, will be sentenced to up to three months in jail on moving violation charges for the crash last October that damage six cars and injured two people.

According to police, the bus was traveling westbound on Maple Road, between Middlebelt and Inkster roads when the Rasheed dozed off, crossed the center line and struck a vehicle. The bus then rear-ended another car, forcing the vehicle into opposite lanes of travel where it was struck by another eastbound traveling vehicle.

The bus slammed into the back of a vehicle while sideswiping a few others and scraping the bus along a guardrail.

The bus continued driving westbound, police said, striking four more vehicles and a guardrail before coming to rest. A single passenger on the bus, as well as the driver, were uninjured.

Two people in cars that were hit were taken to the hospital.

Secretary of State records show Rasheed has a few other black marks on his driving record. He cited for speeding in Oct 2009 after he was involved in a two-car crash in Farmington that injured one person. Last September, in Bloomfield Hills, Rasheed was charged with disobeying a traffic control device.

During a brief court appearance Monday, a judge prohibited Rasheed from driving.

He'd previously admitted to falling asleep on the job.