Police: Driver in deadly school bus crash was speeding

Police filed preliminary charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. A sixth vehicular homicide count will be added for the child who died days after the Nov. 21 crash. The victims were between 6 and 10 years old. Two children remain hospitalized, Officer Adam Cavitt testified.

Warren didn’t specify just when Walker was using the phone. Questioned by Dunn, he acknowledged that a camera inside the bus showed Walker using his phone while the bus was stopped, and that the phone then went out of view. Investigators are going through phone records to get a better sense of when he used it.

Federal authorities say Walker left the designated bus route when he wrecked on a curvy road while carrying 37 children. Authorities say he had no drugs or alcohol in his system.

Dunn said evidence yet to be submitted suggests “different versions” of what happened, particularly regarding how fast Walker was driving. She also directed Warren to testify that Walker helped at least two children off the wrecked bus.

“There’s a whole lot that we don’t know at this time,” said Dunn.

In a separate investigation, Walker has declined to be interviewed by federal crash investigators on advice of his lawyer, the National Transportation Safety Board has said.

The NTSB has filed subpoenas to obtain Walker’s medical and mental health history. Investigators also are seeking his cellphone records and details of his second job with Amazon. The agency’s final report is expected to be presented within 18 months.

Students and administrators had raised concerns about Walker’s behaviour behind the wheel in the weeks before the crash.

The company that provided the school district’s bus services, Durham School Services, has said it will implement millions of dollars in safety upgrades across the country in response to the crash.

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This story has been corrected to attribute the “right off the bat” quote to Warren, not Walker.

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Police: Driver in deadly school bus crash was speeding

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