GUILTY TN - Six elementary students killed in Chattanooga school bus crash, 21 Nov 2016

[JusticeWillBeServed]

NTSB releases preliminary report nearly 2 months after bus crash

http://wkrn.com/2017/01/17/ntsb-releases-preliminary-report-nearly-2-months-after-bus-crash/

Nearly two months after the bus accident that killed six students and injured 31 others, the National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report.

Since Aug. 2016, Johnthony Walker had one reportable and one non-reportable crash while operating a school bus.

At the time of the November 21 crash on Talley Road, Walker was licensed and had a current commercial driver medical certificate. His preliminary toxicology test results were negative for both alcohol and illicit drugs.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Tennessee school bus driver is charged with manslaughter over the deaths of six children in horrific crash

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...indicted-deaths-6-children.html#ixzz4arFnmQJl

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Tennessee bus driver who was behind the wheel when six children died in horrific crash pleads not guilty to manslaughter

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hool-bus-driver-pleads-not-guilty-deaths.html

 

[Elley Mae]

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Department of Child Services has confirmed it has been investigating the driver charged in connection with a school bus crash that killed six students last year.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-21-15-32-25

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Out-of-town jurors will decide Johnthony Walker's fate in Woodmore bus crash trial - May 15th

Prosecutors agreed today to bring out-of-town jurors to Chattanooga to hear the case of the 24-year-old bus driver charged with vehicular homicide in the Woodmore tragedy.

"I think it would be difficult for any citizen in Hamilton County to sit on this jury," defense attorney Amanda Dunn said today. "So it's really for the benefit of all the citizens, the state of Tennessee, and Mr. [Johnthony] Walker to have a fair and impartial jury."

Woodmore families question out-of-town jury, number of charges, Durham contract

A major question among family members: Why is there not a count on the indictment for all 37 children?

Pinkston could bring more charges against Walker if his office believes the medical information supports them. Some parents who filed civil lawsuits said their children needed economic assistance because they were so disfigured from the wreck. Many children are also in therapy because of the unknown psychological impact of seeing their friends and classmates being killed, family members added. Pinkston's staff has been working to contact family members for each of the 37 children, but cannot comment on the possibility of more charges.

The ultimate frustration among Woodmore family members — and one that is out of Pinkston's control — is the Hamilton County Department of Education's unanimous vote to re-sign Durham School Services to a two-year contract in April.

CEO David Duke has said the company has made numerous safety improvements since Nov. 21, including having more monitors on buses and an electronic complaint system. And school board members said Durham, the only company that made a bid for the contract, was the best option nationwide, records show.

That rationalization, however, does not sit easily with the families attending Woodmore, a school that serves predominantly poor and minority students. The outrage over re-signing Durham would have been different if the wreck happened to suburban and rural families, they say.

Woman files 14th Woodmore lawsuit, says granddaughter suffered disfiguring injuries in school bus crash - May 5th

Tennessee Raises Minimum Age for School Bus Drivers, Boosts Oversight - May 31st

Commentary: Lawsuits In Lethal School Bus Crash Reveal Secret About Liberty Of Travel

 

[a_cream_sheep]

It's out there that Walker was on his phone right before/when this crash happened. Does anyone know with whom? What came of the rumor that he asked the children if they were "ready to die" before actually killing them? I think there is more going on here.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Prosecutors plan to bring more charges against Woodmore bus driver

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said in court he will return to the grand jury in the next two weeks with more evidence. It's unclear how many new charges he's seeking, but Pinkston told victims' families during a meeting in May that he needed more medical information on the children who were injured in order to levy additional counts against Walker.

Dunn said her client is eligible for diversion, an alternative sentencing program that allows first-time offenders to get their cases dismissed and then erased if they complete some form of probation or community service.

"All I can say is I believe he's eligible," she said. "He's never been in trouble his entire life. He's a high school graduate. He was working two jobs. He had been nothing but an outstanding member of society."

Attorney says Woodmore bus driver should get alternative sentence

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/jul/26/breaking-woodmore-bus-driver-faces-additional-charges-after-prosecutors-pledge-bring-more/440390/

Prosecutors filed another 14 counts of reckless aggravated assault and seven counts of assault Wednesday after securing indictments from grand jurors, Pinkston's spokeswoman, Melydia Clewell, said.

All told, Walker faces 34 charges now.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/aug/01/woodmore-elementary-gets-new-drivers-facebook/441247/

Attorneys want to restrict access to more court documents in the Woodmore Elementary civil cases after a victim's mother uploaded two of them in a Facebook post last month.

"We're going to be producing video and written information that we think should not be put on social media," Michael Campbell, an attorney for Durham School Services, said Monday in Hamilton County Circuit Court. "There has already been some information on social media from one of the plaintiffs. We're concerned about that."

So far, two of the wrongful death suits and two personal injury suits have been settled. Campbell said Durham has provided $2 million in medical fees and is ready to move toward remediation for any recovered children.

In the meantime, Durham School Services will not be transporting Woodmore Elementary school children when the school year begins Aug. 10.

Four independent contractors have agreed to take those routes, Assistant Superintendent Lee McDade confirmed Monday.

 

[watcher9]

I have not heard this before but this article says that his attorney said she would present evidence that another vehicle was involved in the crash.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36232743/attorney-second-vehicle-involved-in-deadly-woodmore-bus-crash

 

[watcher9]

Judge overruled request for a judicial diversion.
Also, Judge will look at possibility of lowering bond amount after attorney argument..
Reported video will show second vehicle, a white van, may have contributed to the crash.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36232743/attorney-second-vehicle-involved-in-deadly-woodmore-bus-crash

 

[Elley Mae]

Snip

Amanda Dunn, Walker's attorney, said there's video footage and witness testimony about the vehicle, and contends Walker was trying to avoid colliding with it. Dunn only recently revealed the presence of the second vehicle in a court filing.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-08-31-14-21-11

District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said other evidence will be brought forward that counteracts the evidence about the other vehicle.

 

[watcher9]

His jury trial is now scheduled February 20, 2018.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36232743/update-court-date-set-for-woodmore-bus-driver-johnthony-walker

 

[watcher9]

On this update, Walker has been released on bail with his reduced bond of $50,000.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36232743/update-court-date-set-for-woodmore-bus-driver-johnthony-walker

 

[watcher9]

Another update.
After getting out on bail, Walker left the state of Tennessee. He is wearing a GPS ankle monitor and a monitoring company is keeping track of him.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36531973/woodmore-bus-driver-out-of-jail-on-gps-monitoring-system

 

[watcher9]

Update on four civil suits that have been settled in the Woodmore school bus crash.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/36681397/update-at-least-4-woodmore-civil-suits-have-settled

 

[watcher9]

New evidence was laid out in the latest hearing that showed that Walker was on the phone at the time of the crash.
His lawyer is laying out evidence that should be excluded like pictures at the scene and during autopsies, driving history and complaints, phone records - just about anything that could be used against him.

The judge will hear from attorneys on both sides on the other motions on February 5, 2018.
The trial is set for February 27, 2018.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/37061005/johnthony-walkers-attorney-moves-to-limit-evidence

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2018/02/06/chattanooga-bus-crash-clarksville-jury-hear-homicide-trial/310952002/

The school bus driver accused of causing a crash in Chattanooga in November 2016 that killed six children will go to trial later this month, and a jury from Montgomery County will decide his fate.

Walker's motion for an out-of-county jury was granted, and both sides agreed a jury from Montgomery County would be selected Feb. 23 and taken to Chattanooga for the trial, which begins Feb. 27.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/feb/05/attorneys-debate-phone-records-woodmore-bus-driver-case/462923/

Johnthony Walker, a 25-year-old bus driver charged with killing six children, cursed out his student passengers and sped off in front of administrators on a handful of occasions, three witnesses said Monday in Hamilton County Criminal Court.

Most of that testimony is already in the public domain, but prosecutors want jurors from Clarksville, Tenn., to hear some of it during Walker's vehicular homicide trial scheduled for Feb. 27.

But to get the testimony into evidence, prosecutors must convince Criminal Court Judge Don Poole that it's helpful to their case but not overly harmful to Walker's constitutional rights. The judge has taken it into advisement and will release an order soon.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bus driver's alleged cursing, driving issues won't come into evidence at trial

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/feb/19/attorneys-ready/464060/

If prosecutors believe testimony about Johnthony Walker's prior driving is relevant at his Feb. 27 trial, they can request an out-of-jury hearing, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole wrote in an order.

"If the defendant was struggling to maintain order on the bus, as his cursing at them on one or more occasions suggests, it is possible that the students' behavior was a distraction to him at the time of the accident," Poole wrote on Feb. 13.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Attorneys pick jurors, ready for Woodmore bus crash trial

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2018/feb/24/attorneys-pick-jurors-ready-woodmore-bus-cras/464496/

Attorneys picked out-of-town jurors in Clarksville because they agreed Chattanoogans might be biased because of heavy local media attention on the case. They started with roughly 250 potential jurors before court officials whittled that number down to 97. From there, jurors answered 46 questions related to the case, such as whether they had ever driven a bus.

Attorneys finished picking a jury around 5 p.m. Central time. They will be transported to Hamilton County before the trial and remain sequestered throughout the week.

 

[watcher9]

Trial has started.
Links to live stream are listed at bottom of article as well as a tweeter link to live updates.
I'm not sure how to link to the tweeter or twitter?

http://www.wrcbtv.com/category/254193/live-video-stream

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/37600815/day-1-the-trial-of-woodmore-bus-driver-johnthony-walker-begins