CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Nov. 23 (UPI) — The 24-year-old man at the wheel when a school bus flipped over and hit a tree in Tennessee this week, killing five children, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time, investigators said Wednesday.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation analyzed a sample of Johnthony Walker’s blood, which was taken immediately after the crash, and said no traces of intoxicants were found.
Walker was driving the bus in Chattanooga on Monday afternoon when the accident occurred. Authorities have since said the bus was going too fast when it hit a mailbox, a utility pole and then the tree.
Five children were killed in the crash and several others were injured — including some who were hospitalized in intensive care.
Walker has been charged with counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
“It’s time for us to step back, all of us — local school boards, the state — and look at the whole school bus process,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday during a visit to Chattanooga. The governor said the state will review safety protocols involving school buses to mitigate risk in the future.
Some parents of children in Chattanooga have told news media that they previously complained to school officials about Walker speeding on the job.
Investigators said they are still interviewing witnesses and reviewing data from the bus, including video footage and an event recorded installed on the vehicle.
Three fourth-graders, one first-grader and a kindergarten-age child were killed in Monday’s crash.
