Johnthony Walker, the driver of a school bus that crashed and killed several children in Chattanooga on Monday, remains in custody. The letter writer remains at the Hamilton County jail. The incident has generated significant national outcry. It exposed a nearly unprecedented pattern of complaints on his driving record long before the deadly crash that took the lives of, in this instance, six children from Woodmore Elementary School.
Walker was due in court on Tuesday after being charged with vehicular homicide. He was reportedly driving dangerously outside of his normal bus route at the time of the crash. At the time, he was taking 37 students home after school. Eyewitness accounts and official agency complaints indicate that Walker was driving dangerously and erratically just before the fatal incident.
Complaints about Johnthony Walker’s behavior started coming in as early as September. One brave parent wrote an open letter describing a particularly shocking incident. She says Walker yelled at her kids and abruptly slammed on the brakes, making them bump their heads and fall out of their seats.
On November 16, the superintendent on hearing from six students. They told deputies that Walker was cutting in and out on the ride and attempting to knock them off their bikes. One student spoke to Walker about her concerns over the pace of Walker, “The bus driver drives fast.”
In the week before the crash, Walker had been under fire. He had allegedly been speeding when he sped off of the school campus. Benjamin Coulter, the transportation supervisor for the school district, said the complaints were valid. He stated, “We are addressing the issue with the driver.”
On November 2, a school official boarded Walker’s bus after he expressed frustration that students were not listening to him. Witnesses testified that Walker had a cavalier attitude about the issues in his charge. Carlis Shackelford, who observed Walker’s behavior, recounted, “The driver was now visibly upset and continued on by saying that he had another job and driving this bus was just a part-time job for him.” Shackelford reported that Walker said, “Or I can just leave the student on the bus and I will get off the bus and leave the school.”
Sadly, Walker was driving down a winding road just the day of the crash. Federal authorities claim, without mentioning any real evidence, that he drove recklessly. Students reported feeling unsafe during their rides, with one stating, “It feels like the bus is going to flip over. He makes people go seat to seat back and forth. When someone is in the aisle he stops the bus and he makes people hit their heads.” Another student remarked, “The bus driver was doing sharp turns and he made me fly over to the next seat. We need seat belts.”
In the aftermath of the crash that killed six children, Walker sent in the names of ten candidates. He called out those students for the way they acted. This sad accident has reignited the conversation about lack of oversight of school transportation and driver behavior.