Investigators say a school bus driver was talking on his cell phone and listening to music on an MP3 player during his morning run leading up to a fatal crash. On top of that, the driver was previously involved in a fatal vehicle crash while dialing his cell phone.
Police say Frederick Poust III didn’t stop before attempting a left turn into a middle school complex in suburban Philadelphia. Poust allegedly turned directly into the path of a car. The car’s passenger was killed and its driver was seriously injured. None of the 45 children on the bus were injured. Poust wasn’t using his cell phone at the moment of the crash.
Poust faces vehicular homicide charges in addition to 46 counts of reckless endangerment. He’s being held in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.
The school bus driver was involved in another fatal crash in 1999. Poust was dialing his cell phone when he ran a stop sign and broad-sided another car. A two-year-old girl in the car was killed. Poust was cited with careless driving and a stop sign violation and fined $50.
Poust’s employer, Student Transportation of America, said it checked his driving record, but the screening didn’t reveal the 1999 accident.
Bus camera footage retrieved from Poust’s bus shows he allegedly blew through 10 stop signs on the morning of the fatal accident.
The story calls into question how often school bus cameras are checked by the transportation companies or school districts using them.
Do you think the transportation company involved in this fatality should also be held responsible? How can transportation companies be sure their drivers don’t have previous violations, such as Poust’s, on their records? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.