Driver In School Bus Accident Disciplined For Safety Issues Before

The driver involved in a Wednesday morning school bus accident has been disciplined for procedural violations, according to a statement from the Anderson School District.

Parents have also complained about the driver. A News Channel 7 Reporter talked to two parents who said they’d been complaining about the driver since the beginning of the school year.

Some of the two dozen students on a bus suffered minor injuries when an Anderson School District One bus was involved in an accident Wednesday morning.
Anderson School District One Superintendent Dr. Wayne Fowler tells News Channel 7 the bus driver took her eyes off the road and slid into a ditch on U.S. 29 in Belton, near the Whitefield Fire Department. There was no ice on the road according to the superintendent.

There were 24 students on the bus, heading for Cedar Grove Elementary School, when the accident happened just after 7:00am.

The children were taken inside the fire department. Some students suffered bumps and bruises, but we’re told none of the children had to be taken to a hospital.

The bus driver has been charged with driving too fast for conditions. She was transported to a hospital to be examined according to David Havird from Anderson School District One. The District says the driver has two prior incidents on her record where procedures were violated, and the appropriate discipline was taken.

Two parents said they’ve been complaining since the beginning of the school year about this bus driver.

They said she’s shown on several occasions that she can’t handle the children and does not pay attention during driving.

The bus crashed just before it would have made it to these parents’ stop.

They said just last week the school district told them they’d reviewed video of the driver and had found some problems.

The driver wasn’t on the route Thursday afternoon or Friday, but was back Monday morning.

They both said they’re so happy their children weren’t on the bus this morning, but feel bad for those who were, because this didn’t have to happen.

In a statement, district officials said they were investigation the incident.

Read the full statement below:
Approximately two dozen students at Cedar Grove Elementary School in Anderson School District One were involved in a school bus accident this morning. It appears the driver took her eyes off the road and slid into a ditch on U.S. 29 near Whitefield Fire Department. The accident happened around 7:00 a.m. this morning. A couple of students suffered some bumps and bruises but there were no serious injuries and no students were transported to the hospital. Parents of the children were notified of the accident.
The driver of the bus was charged with driving too fast for conditions by the highway patrol. District officials are investigating the incident and appropriate action will be taken.
In reviewing the driver’s safety record, there have been two previous incidents that involved other procedural violations, and in each case the supervisor addressed the incidents and took appropriate discipline action.
As always, student’s safety is a very high priority for Anderson School District One. Therefore district officials will work diligently to complete the investigation in a timely manner.
All drivers must meet stringent certification requirements of school bus training before being assigned a route.