NTSB: Chattanooga School Bus Driver Was Not Driving on Designated Route
The investigation team has recovered three cameras from the school bus.
— -- The school bus driver involved in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, crash that left five children dead was not driving on his designated route, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart said today.
It is something the safety investigation agency will be looking into, Hart confirmed, before adding that the road the bus was traveling on -- Talley Road -- had no fatal car wrecks in the last three years and only nine vehicle crashes that involved injuries.
Six children were killed in the crash, police said. No one was ejected from the bus.
The NTSB also released additional information about the school bus driver, identified by police as 24-year old Johnthony Walker, confirming that he held another job with Amazon as a seasonal employee. It is unknown at this time where he was working for Amazon, but the investigation team said it will be looking into whether his second job caused fatigue. Amazon did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
A toxicology report showed no trace of drugs or alcohol in Walker at the time the bus crashed on Monday afternoon, according to police. The NTSB will be sending samples taken from Walker back to its Oklahoma facility, where they will be tested for a longer list of drugs.
The driver's history also includes a minor wreck in September, which is being investigated by police as a part of the bus crash investigation, said Chattanooga Police Department Sgt. Austin Garrett. There were no charges filed in the incident, but he was cited for failing to yield right of way.
Police are reviewing video from the bus and have obtained warrants for all electronic devices that were on board, Garrett said. Police are reviewing video from the bus and have obtained warrants for all electronic devices that were on board, Garrett said.
According to the NTSB, three cameras with audio have been recovered from the bus: one in the front of the bus facing backward, one in the back of the bus facing forward, and one over the driver facing out through the door. The quality of the audio and video is still unknown at this time, and the investigation team has not completed the full download of the videos, as they were damaged in the crash, Hart explained.
Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher warned the media against false reports that do not originate from the department. Reports circulated that the driver of the bus asked children if they were "prepared to die," Garrett said, but none of the witnesses police have interviewed thus far have provided that information. Garrett added that not all witnesses have been interviewed yet and asked anyone who may have information to come forward.
Police will not be providing updates on the condition of the children who were injured in the crash out of respect for the families, Garrett said.
The Chattanooga Police Department and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting parallel investigations into the fatal incident.
Police said Walker is in custody and has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, as well as reckless endangerment and reckless driving. He is being held on $107,500 bond, according to The Associated Press, and is due to appear in court on Nov. 29. Police confirm that Walker is represented by an attorney, but were unable to confirm the attorney's name to ABC News. It is unclear if he has entered a plea to the charges against him.
The school bus was not equipped with passenger seat belts, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to the affidavit of complaint obtained by ABC News, police said Walker was driving above the 30 mph speed limit on Talley Road, a narrow, winding road. Walker lost control of the bus and swerved off the roadway to the right, striking an elevated driveway and a mailbox. Walker then swerved to the left and the school bus began to roll over, striking a telephone pole and wrapping around a tree, the affidavit states.
Walker’s license was suspended for about a month in 2014 for failure to show proof of insurance, according to state commercial driver records obtained by The AP. He had just received his license to drive a school bus in April, according to the NTSB.
Additionally, Durham School Services, the company Walker worked for, operated under a conditional safety rating from 2007 to 2015 due to previous operational problems, according to the NTSB. Durham School Services operates more than 13,000 vehicles and employs nearly as many drivers. As of August 2015, the company had been upgraded to a satisfactory rating, meaning it was in compliance with all regulations.
ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Jeff Cook contributed to this report.
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