A motorist is facing a misdemeanor charge for a January accident that killed Grand Rapids businessman and philanthropist John Canepa.
Canepa, 87, was struck Jan. 22 while walking across Leonard Street near Quarry Avenue NW. He was attending a going away party for former Grand Rapids City Commissioner Dave Shaffer. Canepa died several days later.
The driver who struck him has been identified by the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office as 47-year-old Amy Lona Brock of Kentwood. She is being charged with moving violation causing death. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail.
An arraignment date for Brock has not been set.
Canepa was the former CEO of Old Kent Bank and served for 25 years on the Grand Action Committee.
Canepa was a 1953 graduate of Harvard University, where he played football, basketball and baseball, according to his obituary. He also earned his MBA from New York University in 1960.
Canepa started his career in banking in 1956 with the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City and moved to Provident Bank in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1963 before joining Old Kent Bank in Grand Rapids in 1970.
He served as chief executive officer from 1988 until his retirement in 1995.
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