The 24-year-old school bus driver, who was arrested after the crash that killed five children in Tennessee, was involved in at least two other accidents in two years.
The Tennessee school bus driver charged in the crash Monday that left 5 children dead and at least 12 others injured was involved in another accident in the area just two months prior and had his license suspended after a different crash, according to state records.
Johnthony Walker, 24, was charged Monday with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving for Monday's school bus crash in Chattanooga that involved at least 37 Woodmore Elementary School children. Speed was cited as a factor in the crash.
In September, Walker was driving a bus when he took a turn too widely and collided with another car, according to Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security records sent to BuzzFeed News. Walker was also in another accident in 2014, which led to his license being suspended for about a month after he failed to show proof of insurance.
Records show Walker obtained his Class B commercial driver's license, which allows a person to drive a bus, in April. He was employed by Durham School Services as a driver.
David A. Duke, the CEO of Durham School Services, said in a statement that his team is "devastated by the accident" and are working with police and the Hamilton County School District to investigate the cause of the deadly crash. The statement did not respond to specific questions about Walker.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate the crash and said it would take about 10 days as they inspect the vehicle, including interior and exterior cameras installed on the bus.
A child gets a hug as students wait for their rides home outside Woodmore Elementary School on Tuesday.
Mark Humphrey / AP
Walker's mother told CNN that she hoped people would have compassion for her son and said he tried to pull children off the bus after it crashed into a tree and flipped over.
"'Mama, I love you. I have been in a drastic accident,'" Gwenevere Cook told the network her son said after the accident. "He texted me minutes later saying the kids are dead."
Cook said her son has never been in trouble before and is the father of a 3-year-old.
"He was trying to get [the children] off the bus – all the bodies were limp," Cook said. "There was blood everywhere."
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2g1HkwT
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