The woman who was hit by an RTA bus earlier this month has died, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office.
Joan Kuendig was hit by a bus Dec. 7 as it attempted to make a left-hand turn onto Rockwell Avenue, while she was a legally crossing pedestrian inside a marked crosswalk.
Kuendig, 69, was rushed to Metro Health Medical Center with serious head injuries. She died at the hospital.
RTA released the below statement to News 5 Cleveland following the death of Kuendig:
"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Joan Kuendig. We will keep Joan, and her family and friends, in our thoughts and our prayers."
The driver of the bus is still is still suspended without pay, pending the results of the investigation by the Cleveland Police Department, RTA officials said in an email.
At the time of the incident, Citizens group Clevelanders for Public Transit believe the closing of Superior Avenue is partly to blame.
Clevelanders for Public Transit coordinator Chris Stocking told News 5 his group believes the closing of Superior Avenue through the square has caused RTA buses to make thousand of additional turns around the square daily.
"The buses going around the square have to make an additional one million turns every year," Stocking said at the time. "That's a very high risk for accidents."
Superior Avenue was closed to traffic through the square last month by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to make Public Square more of a closed park, diverting buses around the square.
