Duke issued a statement on Twitter saying the company was “devastated” by the accident and working with police and school officials to investigate. Hamilton County School District spokeswoman Amy Kutcher declined to say whether the district had received any complaints involving Walker, who was employed by an outside bus contractor, Warrenville, Ill.-based Durham School Services.ĭurham CEO David A. He appeared to have no criminal record in Tennessee, authorities said.
Walker had an accident involving property damage in September, and his license was suspended for about a month in 2014 for failure to show proof of insurance, according to state commercial driver records. He said his daughter and stepson were in shock and pain after the crash.
“There has been times where I’ve seen him going a little faster than he probably should be going,” Harris said. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate, and police obtained a warrant to remove the bus’ black box, which contains data on the vehicle’s movements.Īs the investigation got underway, NTSB chairman Christopher Hart said the agency will look at such factors as the driver’s actions, the condition of the bus and whether seat belts – something the NTSB has been pushing for – would have made a difference.Ĭraig Harris, a parent of two children who were on the bus, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the bus driver sometimes drove too fast. So today, the city is praying for these families.” “There are no words that can bring comfort to a mother or a father. “The most unnatural thing in the world is for a parent to mourn the loss of a child,” Mayor Andy Berke said. Their families were notified, but their names were not released.Īll the children aboard went to Woodmore Elementary School. Three of the children killed were in fourth grade, one was in first grade and another in kindergarten, said interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly of the Hamilton County Department of Education. Hospital staff photographed each child and showed the images to teachers to figure out identities, he said. “Because of their young age, many of them were unable to spell their names, did not know their birthdays or even their parents’ names – several said ‘Momma’ when they were asked what their name was.” “Many of them were scared or too dazed to talk to us,” Koller said at a news conference Tuesday. Darvey Koller, a pediatric emergency room physician at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, said identifying the students after the crash was a lengthy process in some cases. The hospital said 12 children remained hospitalized Tuesday, six in critical condition and six stable.ĭr. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer. He was jailed on $107,500 bail for a court appearance Tuesday on charges that included reckless driving and reckless endangerment.