(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1342 is remembering its Union Sister Chequita Smith, who will be laid to rest this weekend after losing her life in a crash of a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) Para-Transit bus earlier this month, as a person “with a ‘contagious smile who would help any Union Member that she could.’”

The 60-year-old Smith, a nine-year Member of Local 1342, was a Para-Transit Bus Operator/Instructor who died in a crash of a NFTA Bus in Tonawanda.  

Two others inside the bus were injured and taken to a local hospital.

The accident reportedly closed off the I-190 Southbound Ramp to I-290 eastbound, near the South Grand Island Bridge, for a short time.

The NFTA’s Para-Transit Access Line service provides rides for those eligible under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Local 1342 President Jeff Richardson told WNYLaborToday.com: “She was a ‘loving, happy and caring person who always greeted you with a smile and a hello.’  ‘She would help any’ Union Member ‘she could, either welcoming them to our Union or to the NFTA.’  She was ‘very involved with her church, in the choir, and came from a very close-knit’ family.

Local 1342 Financial Secretary/Treasurer Ron Giza said: “This ‘breaks our heart.’  Her smile ‘was contagious.’  I’ve been a part of this Union and this is only the second time (Local 1342) ‘has lost one of our Members.’  ‘This cuts to the core.’”

ATU International President John Costa also issued a statement, saying: “We are sad to report our Local 1342-Buffalo, New York Sister Chequita Smith was killed in a tragic bus accident in Buffalo that injured two others.  On behalf of the entire ATU, I want to express our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of our Sister and the two others injured.  Our thoughts and prayers are also with our members of Local 1342 as they deal with this terrible tragedy.”

Smith’s funeral will be held on Saturday (May 27th) in Buffalo where a number of ATU Members and Representatives are anticipated to be in attendance, including Members of Rochester’s Local 283, Albany Local 1321 and Staten Island Local 726, Union Officials said.

ATU Local 1342 represents 1,600 Members, including 900 Active Members, many of whom are employed at the NFTA, including a great number of Public Transportation Bus Drivers.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Some of the information contained in this Labor News Report is from WIVB-TV in Buffalo.

Photo Courtesy Of ATU Local 1342's Facebook Page.