Legal news for Pennsylvania premise liability attorneys – A sleep-deprived and inattentive school bus driver crashed into a Honda, one dead, several injured.
A bus driver involved in second fatal accident. Charges pressed, investigation underway.
Norristown, PA (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) – Frederick Poust III, 38, of Schwenksville, Pa., caused an accident in front of a middle school that killed the passenger of the oncoming car, injured the driver and left children on the bus with minor injuries. Prior to the incident, Proust had been awake 24 hours, was listening to his iPod through bus speakers, made personal calls on his cell phone and sped through 10 stop signs. He is charged with homicide by vehicle and 46 counts of recklessly endangering another person. He was also involved in a fatal accident in 1999, where he ran a stop sign while dialing a cell phone and struck another vehicle, killing a two-year-old girl, as reported by Fox News.
The video from the bus shows Poust rubbing his eyes and face as he drove 45 students on February 17, 2010 to a Montgomery County middle school. The affidavit cites these “signs of fatigue, inattentiveness and careless[ness]” to be the cause of the accident. He told authorities he had not slept because he had worked a second job as a night security guard at a retirement community. He also told investigators that he made a complete stop before turning left into the middle school and striking the oncoming Honda. Authorities that reviewed the in-bus footage say he did not. The accident, which occurred around 7:25 a.m., killed Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville. The car’s driver was injured, and five students were shaken up.
The 1999 crash that killed a toddler lies outside the five year driving record investigation required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The NJ-based Student Transportation of America, Poust’s employer, said it completed the required background check before hiring him in February 2009.
Messages left for Poust’s attorney were not immediately returned and listings for Poust are disconnected.
Legal News Reporter: Tara Monks – Legal news for Pennsylvania school bus and premise liability attorneys.