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

[DropthePuck]

The little girl in the photo you posted is Zyanna Harris she is 10 years old. My heart hurts for all.

Another article with Zyanna http://www.farrahgray.com/pictured-...r-injured-kids-reveals-hes-seen-driver-speed/

The little girl's name is actually Cordayja Jones. She's 9 years old and the cousin of a local principal.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/33772269/cordayja-jones-cousin-of-local-principal

 

[tlcya]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-says-s-seen-bus-driver-reckless-before.html

Photos of some of the children who died at the link.

 

[Betty P]

Just as I suspected, the school bus service is handled by a for-profit, private contractor.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tenn-bus-driver-speed-limit-crash-article-1.2883285

That means the CEO pads his profits by hiring anyone he can willing to work for a low wage, with little in the way of training or background checks. No public accountability, just pure profit. Just another taxpayer rip-off.

 

[skibaboo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-says-s-seen-bus-driver-reckless-before.html

Photos of some of the children who died at the link.

:tears:

I'm stunned.

"Are y'all ready to die"

The article shows him with his family, he's a father.

He either intentionally wanted to kill the children or going by the red eye was high and in complete disregard for safety and driving recklessly and acting foolish. UNBELIEVABLE. I'm so sickened and disgusted and SAD.

 

[Tillicum]

IMO they need to change this headline. "Tennessee school bus crash: Mother of driver offers and asks for compassion" Compassion IMO doesn't talk to the media about "blood everywhere" and "limp bodies" when the families and our country is devastated by the senseless deaths of these beautiful children :tantrum:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/us/tennessee-school-bus-crash-mother-of-driver/index.html

Sorry the link is for CNN

 

[Jax49]

IMO they need to change this headline. "Tennessee school bus crash: Mother of driver offers and asks for compassion" Compassion IMO doesn't talk to the media about "blood everywhere" and "limp bodies" when the families and our country is devastated by the senseless deaths of these beautiful children :tantrum:

[video=cnn;us/2016/11/22/chattanooga-school-bus-crash-orig-jnd-vstop.cnn]http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/us/tennessee-school-bus-crash-mother-of-driver/index.html[/video]

Sorry the link is for CNN

Thanks Tillicum.

Wow, momma's comments ticked me off. Can't imagine how it came across to people directly involved.

Hope this link works.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/us/tennessee-school-bus-crash-mother-of-driver/

 

[Jax49]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chattan...ker-asked-children-if-they-were-ready-to-die/

A school bus driver charged with vehicular homicide in a crash in Tennessee asked the children if they were ready to die, according to the mother of three kids who were aboard the bus. One of her children was among the five dead.
“My daughter said right before the bus flipped that he was speeding around the curve and asked them ‘Are y’all ready to die,’”Jasmine Mateen told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. Mateen’s 6-year-old daughter was killed.

Mateen also said she had complained repeatedly since August about the behavior of driver Johnthony Walker before the accident, to no avail.

 

[watcher9]

Records shows driver had another accident 2 months ago.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/3377226...bus-driver-was-involved-in-wreck-2-months-ago

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

just heartbreaking. What kind of justice is there for this. I mean, really... no matter what, your child has died. How do these families even go on...

 

[passionflower]

All the precious angels and according to my local news several are in ICU critical condition. God Bless the families..............and over the holidays, absolutely the worse!

 

[lmadler]

Very sad. Prayers

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

 

[K_Z]

Mateen also said she had complained repeatedly since August about the driver’s behavior before the accident, to no avail. She said that just last week the driver allegedly told the kids: “Shut the F up, I have a hangover,” and another time forced the kids to ride in scorching heat with the windows rolled up.

http://wncn.com/2016/11/22/chattano...-bus-driver-asked-if-they-were-ready-to-die/#

BBM.

Eyes are pretty bloodshot in the mug shot pic. Wonder what the tox report will show? My guess is it will be positive for more than one substance.

 

[K_Z]

This is what happens when public schools contract out their bus service. They lose all control over who is driving the kids, complaints, disciplinary records, etc. It's the reality of public schools now, that few to none maintain their own bus fleets anymore.

I know it's not "PC" to say this, but I will anyway, because I know some are thinking it. This guy's personal appearance (messy dredlocks) and age (24, still in the actuarial insurance high risk driving category) do not transmit "I am very respectful, responsible, safe, and trustworthy." Instead, it screams "the contracted bus company will hire anyone that applies and has a CDL, for the lowest possible pay." IMO, this guy should never have been hired due to his age and personal appearance alone. My opinion. Others will vary.


They have the recording devices from the bus. My guess is the real truth is even worse than what they have disclosed. There was no hesitation to arrest and begin charging him. The speed must have been extremely high to result in a school bus being torn in half in a residential neighborhood.

 

[gregjrichards]

This is what happens when public schools contract out their bus service. They lose all control over who is driving the kids, complaints, disciplinary records, etc. It's the reality of public schools now, that few to none maintain their own bus fleets anymore.

I know it's not "PC" to say this, but I will anyway, because I know some are thinking it. This guy's personal appearance (messy dredlocks) and age (24, still in the actuarial insurance high risk driving category) do not transmit "I am very respectful, responsible, safe, and trustworthy." Instead, it screams "the contracted bus company will hire anyone that applies and has a CDL, for the lowest possible pay." IMO, this guy should never have been hired due to his age and personal appearance alone. My opinion. Others will vary.


They have the recording devices from the bus. My guess is the real truth is even worse than what they have disclosed. There was no hesitation to arrest and begin charging him. The speed must have been extremely high to result in a school bus being torn in half in a residential neighborhood.

The public school district is going to regret this decision when faced with multiple costly lawsuits. I hope the company who supplied this driver loses its contract because they clearly should never have allowed him behind the wheel if they received multiple complaints about his behaviour from parents for a considerable time.

 

[Indy Anna]

[Mateen] said her children complained to her about the driver, and she took the issue to the Board of Education, the school and the bus company, Durham School Services. She said she also wrote a letter to the driver, which the principal read aloud to him as she and several children watched.

"He said, 'So? I'd do it again,'" Mateen recalled.

<snipped> http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-complained-about-driver-deadly-crash-n687416

How does a parent live with that -- knowing that people who had the authority to terminate the driver's employment knew about this and yet nothing was done. Now Ms. Mateen has to bury a daughter and has two other children who are critically injured.

 

[Inthedetails]

[Mateen] said her children complained to her about the driver, and she took the issue to the Board of Education, the school and the bus company, Durham School Services. She said she also wrote a letter to the driver, which the principal read aloud to him as she and several children watched.

"He said, 'So? I'd do it again,'" Mateen recalled.

<snipped> http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-complained-about-driver-deadly-crash-n687416

How does a parent live with that -- knowing that people who had the authority to terminate the driver's employment knew about this and yet nothing was done. Now Ms. Mateen has to bury

Unbelievable! A parent had been notifying the school about the driver?!? Wow.

The driver is at fault, absolutely, of course....but the decision-makers who ignored these complaints have responsibility as well. I'm not one to go for lawsuits at every whim, but this is a case of broken trust. The school was notified of a problem. We have to be able to trust others who are with our children.

Grr....am I ever mad. And, I'm glad that mother documented the problems, not that it helped (grrrr), but that light will be shed on this.

jmopinion

 

[Eloise]

I know it's not "PC" to say this, but I will anyway, because I know some are thinking it. This guy's personal appearance (messy dredlocks) and age (24, still in the actuarial insurance high risk driving category) do not transmit "I am very respectful, responsible, safe, and trustworthy." Instead, it screams "the contracted bus company will hire anyone that applies and has a CDL, for the lowest possible pay." IMO, this guy should never have been hired due to his age and personal appearance alone. My opinion. Others will vary.

No I think that's fair enough. I think people shouldn't be allowed to drive until they're at least 25. I know people probably think that's nuts and I realise there are logistical difficulties inherent in such an idea - but given that the human brain isn't mature until 25 I think it's a fair age to take on the really quite heavy responsibility of driving vehicles. I mean so many people die because of cars/trucks/whatever, yet we are all very ho-hum about it. We just accept that its okay that huge numbers of people are slaughtered in vehicular accidents every year. The same amount of people dying to crime or terrorism and imagine the outcry?

Anyway, I know its pie in the sky stuff.

 

[unsinkable]

[Mateen] said her children complained to her about the driver, and she took the issue to the Board of Education, the school and the bus company, Durham School Services. She said she also wrote a letter to the driver, which the principal read aloud to him as she and several children watched.

"He said, 'So? I'd do it again,'" Mateen recalled.

<snipped> http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-complained-about-driver-deadly-crash-n687416

How does a parent live with that -- knowing that people who had the authority to terminate the driver's employment knew about this and yet nothing was done. Now Ms. Mateen has to bury a daughter and has two other children who are critically injured.

"Asked what their parents' names were, some simply said, "Mama," Darvey Koller, a pediatric emergency room physician, said in a news conference."

oh my gosh. That article is heart-wrenching. Just a warning, the mom talks about what her dear daughter looked like in death. Heartbreaking. That's the word that I keep coming back, too.

 

[unsinkable]

This morning, without much info, I was hoping the driver got distracted. I saw his picture, and the red eyes, and hoped it was from crying for the children.

He does seem to have a bruise on his forehead. But it is hard to believe that is his only injury.

But now, ugh, it's horrible to think he might be hungover or still stoned and was trying to mess with the kids. That is so awful.

 

[DexterMorgan]

No I think that's fair enough. I think people shouldn't be allowed to drive until they're at least 25. I know people probably think that's nuts and I realise there are logistical difficulties inherent in such an idea - but given that the human brain isn't mature until 25 I think it's a fair age to take on the really quite heavy responsibility of driving vehicles. I mean so many people die because of cars/trucks/whatever, yet we are all very ho-hum about it. We just accept that its okay that huge numbers of people are slaughtered in vehicular accidents every year. The same amount of people dying to crime or terrorism and imagine the outcry?

Anyway, I know its pie in the sky stuff.

He was just in a accident 2 months ago when his bus side swiped a kia when he decided to make a blind turn.

So he should have lost his job then.

Btw: I thought school bus drivers were supposed to be more professional than this guy.