Posted on 11/23/2016 12:00:23 PM PST by Morgana
FULL TITLE: Chattanooga school bus driver was involved in another collision just two months ago - and only got his license to drive the vehicle in April
The school bus driver charged after a crash that killed five children was involved in another collision just two months ago – and only got his license to drive a school bus in April.
Johnthony Walker, 24, was arrested and charged after with five counts of vehicular homicide after the collision in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Monday.
Five Woodmore Elementary students - three fourth-graders, a first-grader and a boy in kindergarten – died in the crash and nearly two dozen more were injured.
Twelve children remain hospitalized, six of them in a critical condition in intensive care.
But now, it has emerged that Walker had been in an accident involving a school bus as recently as September.
According to the police report, he was heading into a blind curve and hit an SUV when he crossed over into the oncoming lane to maneuver the bus around the bend.
Scroll down for video
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
When I saw his picture I was stunned.
That’s what they hired to drive young children???????
.
” The mother of the bus driver charged with vehicular homicide in five children’s deaths insists her son was not at fault and that the crash was ‘God’s will.’ “
You are mixing two discrete events.
The one where he hit an SUV was a couple of months ago.
The one where he almost split the bus in half is the recent on where children were killed.
“I hope the jury lets him off”
Really?
This woman claims she has contacted the school, at least once in writing, to complain about the driver. He was recently in a bus accident where he was accused of running a stop sign. Several of the surviving kids have stated he was driving recklessly...on stating he asked ‘are you ready to die?
Scroll down in this story, and another parent (man) states the bus had gone through the neighborhood too fast in the past.
There are cameras on that bus, which will eventually help tell the tale...but at first glance, this guy looks negligent at best.
Here is an interesting side note.
Many of the children on the bus were black, and even they didn’t like him driving the bus.
“Earlier on Tuesday, Mateen said that the last words Walker said to the children before he sped around a curb and crashed the bus, were reportedly: ‘Are y’all ready to die?’
‘My daughter said, right before the bus flipped, that he was speeding around the curb, and asked them, ‘are y’all ready to die?’’ Mateen told CBS News Radio.”
Immature, and ignorant. Like most his age.
Never had driver education training.
Never had someone teach him how to drive.
Never learned how to handle a vehicle under emergency conditions.
Does not understand the physics of momentum, friction, the roll rate of the vehicle, etc, etc, etc.
It takes time and experience to learn how to 'handle' a vehicle. Many , regardless to age, never learn it. They can 'drive', but they can't control the vehicle during any type of emergency.
Like many young adults and adolescents, he thought driving fast would be cool (and scare the kids) but he exceeded his LIMITATIONS (on driving skills).
IIRC, it was a parent on the bus??
Update: I read the whole article (it was fairly long) and found the source.
I just got my CDL (commercial license, needed to drive a bus) last month. Now I’m scared as hell to take a “big yellow” on the road. Thanks, folks.
From what I can tell about the accident, he was driving just too damned fast. He had to be moving at a good clip to both roll the bus onto its side THEN slide into a tree hard enough to break the bus in half. Stupid.
And as for that “look who they’re hiring” crap, most bus companies are desperately shorthanded and they’ll take almost any drug-free individual with no criminal record who walks through the door. Decent part-time job with easy hours, kids. A lot of my co-workers speak Spanish, which doesn’t bother me one bit.
He thought he would thrill the kids. Apparently (based on the interviews with the children) he did this several times (trying to scare them. Driving fast and recklessly). He thought he knew enough(the younger you are, the more you are sure you know), and that he could 'handle' the bus. Turns out he was wrong. Dead wrong.
As long as you don't Exceed your Limitations, you will be fine.
What are the Black Box read outs ?
I had on Fox or Fox Business around noon today, and I was stunned to hear that the murderous bus driver yelled something like “Hey kids are you ready to die?!” before he caused the bus to crash so hard it broke in two.
Yesterday I was stunned enough just seeing that loser’s picture. I said “What the hell did they hire a drug addict for?”.
Today, it got worse, with the revelation that it was an intentional crash to kill children.
I hope they have the death penalty in that state.
Also heard he had an accident just 2 months ago.
Just how low are the standards for school bus drivers in that area?
He looks absolutely batsh*t crazy in his mug shot.
Fox news had new info on this story today. The driver yelled “Hey kids are you ready to die?!!” before he drove the bus so fast and recklessly that it crashed and broke in two. He meant to kill them all.
His mug shot was bad enough when I saw it yesterday. Clearly he’s a drug addict.
Then today, the news that he meant to kill every child on board that bus.
I hope they fry him.
I heard that also, on one of the Fox channels.
I hope they have the death penalty there.
Sicko bastard...time for sparky ..NO MERCY!!
I hope they kill him before it goes to trial. Trials are overrated.
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