Man on mo-ped killed trying to pass school bus

A South Baltimore man was killed yesterday when his mo-ped and a school bus collided on a ramp leading from Russell Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard, said a police traffic investigator.

Officer Raymond Howard said Tavon Battles, 19, of the 100 block of W. Cross St. and a friend were operating mo-peds north on Russell Street about 2: 23 p.m. when Battles tried to pass a Prince George's County school bus on the right to get to northbound Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Howard said when Battles got alongside the bus, it struck the mo-ped and the victim was thrown from the vehicle and under the rear wheels of the bus. Battles was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Howard said no one on the bus, which was carrying 30 children and heading into the city, was injured. The ramp was closed until 5: 50 p.m., affecting evening rush-hour traffic.

Pub Date: 2/16/99