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Huge Turnout For Funeral Of MTA Bus Driver Killed In Crash

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The MTA bus driver killed last week in a horrific crash in Southwest Baltimore was laid to rest on Thursday. Nine days later, investigators still don't have all the answers.

A church overflowed on Baltimore's east side Thursday morning --  all to say goodbye to 33-year-old MTA bus driver and mother of four Ebonee Baker.

ebonee-baker

The church was so packed, visitors had to take turns standing in the back of the service.

"So sad. The kids are taking it so hard, and her mother... Her husband just looks like he's in a daze," said Bettie Hundley, family friend.

Baker was killed last Tuesday, Nov. 1, when a school bus driver lost control on Frederick Avenue, rear-ended a Ford Mustang and then slammed into the MTA bus Baker was driving. The violent crash killed six people in all and injured many.

The few survivors never saw it coming.

"I was on my way to work. I didn't know this was going to happen," crash survivor Michelle Kennedy said.

Investigators say it could take weeks to determine if the school bus driver -- Glenn Chappell, whose medical clearance to drive the bus had expired -- suffered a medical emergency.

Chappell's grandson, Neco Williams, tells WJZ that he had a history of seizures.

"Since this medical condition has him being this way, I can't say that I agree with him driving the bus. Maybe he should have considered another field," said Williams.

But that is little comfort to a community coping with the loss of one of their own.

"Ebonee was a young, vibrant young lady, full of life, full of personality," said Randy Boatswain, MTA coworker.

One man from the crash is still being treated at the hospital. The University of Maryland Medical Center tells WJZ that he is in serious condition.

THE OTHER VICTIMS

  • School bus driver, Glenn R. Chappell, 67
  • Cherry Denise Yarborough, 51, of 51200 Woolverton Ave., Baltimore
  • Terance Lee Casey, 52, of 200 Saint Matthews Street, Baltimore
  • Gerald Holloway, 51, of 600 Dumbarton Ave., Baltimore
  • Pattie Lynn Martinez, 46, no fixed address

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