Child, mother file lawsuit in Chattanooga crash

According to a charging affidavit filed against the 24-year-old bus driver involved in a horrific crash in Chattanooga that killed five elementary school students, he was driving much faster than the posted 30 miles per hour limit.

The school bus, carrying more than 35 students from Woodmore Elementary School, swerved off a winding road, smashing into a telephone pole and a tree. The driver, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, has been arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide.

Cassell points out if a fire breaks out on a bus or if it crashes into water kids would be trapped with their seat belts on. “People doing everything they could to assist students”.

At Erlanger Children’s Hospital, children were treated for minor injuries, such as bruises and cuts, as well as broken limbs and traumatic head and spinal injuries, Erlanger Health System Senior Vice President Jan Keys said.

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher said more charges are likely as the criminal investigation progresses.

“Because we wasn’t sure if she was alive or anything that was going on”.

A makeshift memorial appears near the scene of a school bus crash, Tuesday.. She told CBS News what one of her other children had to say about the driver.

The other five victims have been identified by family members as Zyanna Harris, 10; D’Myunn Brown, 6; Cordayja Jones, 9; Zyaira Mateen, 6; and Zoie Nash, 9. The driver has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving.

As for Durham drivers, 53 “unsafe driving” violations were reported in the last two years, most of which (30) involved failing to use a seat belt, the administration said. “It’s a sad situation anytime there’s a school bus with children involved, which there is in this case”.

All the children went to Woodmore Elementary School.

“I don’t know what he was thinking driving that fast with kids on the bus”, Smith said Wednesday. Five of the children remained hospitalized in critical condition early Wednesday.

Durham CEO David Duke said in a YouTube statement that the company, which runs the bus service, was cooperating with the federal and local investigations.

“It’s real tough”, said Dujuan Butchee, whose daughters, Jamya and Janesa, are eighth-graders who used to go to the same school as the youngsters killed in the wreck.

He continued: “What I can say is that I am deeply sorry for the children that were taken from their families with so much life before them”.

What we know: Walker received his commercial driving license in April, according to the NTSB.

Walker was employed by Durham School Services, the same company that operates the buses for Shelby County Schools.

Three of the children killed were in fourth grade, one was in first grade and another in kindergarten, said Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent of Hamilton County schools.

Soon after the accident, a text message was sent to the parents in Tennessee’s Hamilton County which read, “We just wanted to inform you that Hamilton County schools faced a great tragedy today”.

While Cook said she grieved for the victims and their families, she also sought mercy for her son, who is being held on $107,500 bond.

Tennessee’s Department of Education and Department of Safety and Homeland Security would participate, Haslam said. Investigators also plan to review video from two cameras on the bus, one rear-facing and one forward-facing. Martin Savidge and Natisha Lance reported from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“We grew up together”, Careathers said of Cook.

Investigators said the bus crash about a mile away from the school.

Durham is an Illinois-based company that operates around 13,700 vehicles across the USA, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.