2016 Chattanooga school bus crash

School bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States September 2026 January 2018 2016 Chattanooga school bus crash File:Chattanooga, TN (31070581571).jpg NTSB investigators and the damaged bus November 21, 2016 Chattanooga, Tennessee School bus crash Excessive speed. School bus 37 6 (1 later) 32, incl. the bus driver (6 critical) 35 01 27 N 85 14 05 W scale:5000 title On the afternoon of November 21, 2016, a school bus in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States, rolled over onto its passenger side and became wrapped around a tree. There were six fatalities and 23 injuries. Incident The incident took place in the city's Brainerd neighborhood on Talley Road, which officials described as a "narrow, winding road." The bus, operated by Durham School Services, was transporting children from Woodmore Elementary School.Kids Who Died in Chattanooga School Bus Crash Include 3 Fourth-Graders https://abcnews.go.com/US/kids-killed-chattanooga-school-bus-crash-include-fourth/story?id=43702930 Hayden Michael Edison Gallagher J.J. Liddy Tom Cook Jeffrey abcnews.go.com ABC News Internet Ventures November 22, 2016 November 22, 2016Nicholson Ken Driver charged in deadly Talley Road school bus crash http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/33763627/update-driver-charged-in-deadly-talley-road-school-bus-crash wrcbtv.com WRCB-TV November 22, 2016 Cameras mounted inside the bus captured the crash and the events before it.https://abcnews.go.com/US/driver-video-cellphone-deadly-2016-bus-crash-prosecutors/story?id=53396597 Driver seen on video with cellphone before deadly 2016 bus crash: Prosecutors ABC News en 2019-07-07 The driver, 24-year-old Johnthony K. Walker, lost control of the bus and caused it to strike a pole and then a tree and flip over.http://newschannel9.com/news/local/third-lawsuit-filed-in-deadly-woodmore-elementary-school-bus-crash Third lawsuit filed in deadly Woodmore Elementary school bus crash WTVC 2016-12-05 WTVC 2019-07-07 According to court records, he lost control of the bus and swerved off of the roadway to the right, striking an elevated driveway and mailbox, before swerving to the left and overturning, striking a telephone pole and a tree.https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/23/us/chattanooga-school-bus-crash/index.html Chattanooga bus crash: 6 children dead; Titans to help victims' families Holly Yan, Natisha Lance and Ray Sanchez CNN 2019-07-07 Authorities received a call about the crash just before 3:30 p.m. and first responders worked the scene for many hours to remove all of the victims from the bus. The rescue effort took more than two hours, even though the last child was removed from the bus around 4:30 p.m.https://www.10news.com/news/national/5-students-killed-in-chattanooga-school-bus-crash-24-year-old-driver-charged 4 girls, boy killed in bus crash; driver charged 2016-11-22 KGTV en 2019-07-07 There were 37 children on the bus at the time of the crash. Victims Five of the children died at the scene of the crash. A sixth child died two days later.http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/us/tennessee-chattanooga-school-bus-accident/index.html 6 dead in Tennessee school bus crash Sterling Joe Simon Darran cnn.com Cable News Network November 21, 2016 November 22, 2016Drugs, alcohol not involved in bus crash; 6th child dies http://krqe.com/2016/11/23/drugs-alcohol-not-involved-in-bus-crash-6th-child-dies/ krqe.com LIN Television Associated Press November 23, 2016 November 24, 2016 Of the deceased, three were fourth-graders, one a third-grader, one a first-grader, and one a kindergartner,https://people.com/crime/chattanooga-bus-crash-witnesses-parents-describe-scene/ Witnesses Describe 'Big Boom' and 'Horror Story' at Fatal School Bus Crash Scene: Reports Carlson Adam November 22, 2016 people.com en 2019-07-07 none of whom were older than 10.https://people.com/crime/chattanooga-bus-crash-three-students-victims-identified/ Pictured: The Children, No Older Than 10, Killed in Tennessee School Bus Crash Keating Caitlin November 23, 2016 people.com en 2019-07-07 Thirty-two children were injured in the crash. Of them, nine were treated directly for minor injuries. Of the nine children treated directly, three escaped for safety with minor injuries. Twenty-three children were hospitalized, six of whom were in critical condition. The driver of the bus was not seriously injured, but along with the children was also taken to the hospital, where he was arraigned. Walker was the only victim to be charged in connection with the collision. Identification of the victims was hampered by many of the children being too young to know their parents names or phone numbers; many referred to their parents with informal names such as "Mama", and did not know their names, spellings, or birth dates. The children also did not have any form of identification with them when they arrived at the hospital and all were wearing school uniforms when they were admitted. Photographs provided by parents in the waiting room, or taken of the child and shown to teachers were used to identify the students admitted into the hospital.https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/23/us/chattanooga-bus-crash-hospital-confusion/index.html Confusion in the ER: School bus crash victims too young to ID themselves Holly Yan and Martin Savidge CNN 2019-07-07 Aftermath Support was seen throughout the community and in other states. The NFL Tennessee Titans donated $25,000 to the Woodmore Fund, which benefits the families affected by the crash and wore "W.E.S" decals on their helmets in their game against the Chicago Bears in tribute to the students. Lines were seen at Blood Assurance in Chattanooga, with staff fast tracking donors with blood type O negative and had extended their hours at three locations to better serve donors.https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/us/chattanooga-bus-crash-blood-donations-irpt/index.html Chattanooga residents rush to give blood after bus crash Alex Leininger CNN 2019-07-07 Donations of teddy bears, money and pizzas to the Children's Hospital at Erlanger were also seen. Governor Bill Haslam issued a statement that night offering his thoughts and prayers to the families involved as did David W. Purkey with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Investigation Officials believe that the speed of the bus might have been a contributing factor. On the day after the crash, a spokesman for the Chattanooga police department reported that drugs and alcohol were not factors. According to CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann, the mother of three children on the bus, including one who died, stated that her surviving children told her that Walker asked if they were "ready to die" immediately before the crash. Chattanooga police disputed the accuracy of this claim.Driver Asked Kids 'Are You Ready to Die' Before Crashing Bus in Chattanooga http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2016/11/22/report-driver-asked-kids-are-you-ready-to-die-before-crashing-bus-in-chattanooga/ detroit.cbslocal.com CBS Local Media (staff writer) November 22, 2016 November 23, 2016 Chattanooga Officers testified during the 2016 hearing that the school bus traveled between 48 and 52 mph, in a 30 mph zone. Students had previously complained about Walker's quality of driving and the private company that he was employed under, Durham School Services, had a history of traffic accidents in Tennessee.https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2018/02/26/chattanooga-school-bus-crash-what-know-trial-gets-underway/374499002/ Deadly Chattanooga school bus crash: What to know as trial gets underway The Tennessean 2018-04-19 en Driver Johnthony K. Walker, aged 24, was identified as the driver of the school bus and had been issued his commercial driver's license (CDL) of April 2016. He was in a previous crash in September 2016 when he drove around a blind curve in a residential area and failed to yield to a right of way and sideswiped another vehicle. There were no injuries reported. Walker was arrested with minor injuries and later charged with six counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.http://www.wbir.com/news/local/authorities-investigate-chattanooga-school-bus-crash/354658853 Bus driver charged with vehicular manslaughter in Chattanooga bus crash (staff writer) November 21, 2016 wbir.com WBIR-TV en-US November 22, 2016July 2023 InternetArchiveBot yes On March 1, 2018, Walker was convicted of six counts of criminally negligent homicide, 11 counts of reckless aggravated assault, seven counts of assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and using his phone.https://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/bus-driver-found-guilty-of-criminally-negligent-homicide-in-crash-that-killed-6-kids/51-524203588 Bus driver found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in crash that killed 6 kids wbir.com 2018-06-16 en-US In addition a Hamilton County Criminal Court jury convicted Walker of lesser charges for the crash. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but went free on bail pending an appeal. In June 2018, while free on bail pending an appeal of the bus crash charges, Walker was arrested for the statutory rapehttps://www.newschannel5.com/news/johnthony-walker-charged-with-aggravated-rape Johnthony Walker Charged With Aggravated Rape 2018-06-15 WTVF en 2019-07-07 of a 14-year-old girl at a family member's Nashville home where he was staying.https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/06/14/driver-2016-chattanooga-bus-crash-charged-rape-nashville/704263002/ Johnthony K. Walker, driver in fatal Chattanooga bus crash, charged in rape in Nashville Gallegos Anna Celia June 14, 2018 Nashville Tennessean June 16, 2018 Officers stated during testimony that Walker admitted to having sex with the minor in the home's family room five times and that he believed it to be a consensual relationship but it was "repulsive" upon looking back.https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/07/26/nashville-rape-case-against-chattanooga-bus-driver-johnthony-walker/818349002/ Chattanooga bus driver Johnthony Walker wrote apology to statutory rape victim, cop says Tamburin Adam July 26, 2018 The Tennessean en 2019-07-07 He was indicted on eight counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of sexual exploitation of the girl after a grand jury returned the indictments in March 2019.https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2019/mar/11/grand-jury-statutory-rape-charge/490340/ Johnthony Walker indicted on eight counts of statutory rape 2019-03-11 timesfreepress.com 2019-07-07 In September 2020 Walker pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to an additional six years and one month in prison. He was also required to register as a sex offender.https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/9/3/414635/Johnthony-Walker-To-Serve-6-Years-1.aspx Johnthony Walker To Serve 6 Years, 1 Month In Nashville Statutory Rape Case 2020-09-03 chattanoogan.com 2020-09-05 Additional legal proceedings A lawsuit was filed on November 23, 2016 on behalf of a deceased victim's parent and alleged that the driver was negligent and careless in his driving. It also targeted Durham School Services and alleged that it did not have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all school bus drivers were properly hired, trained, supervised, investigated, and disciplined.http://newschannel9.com/news/local/lawsuit-filed-against-durham-bus-company-driver-involved-in-mondays-crash Lawsuit filed against Durham Bus Company, driver involved in Monday's crash Ellis Taylor 2016-11-23 WTVC 2019-07-07 On November 29, 2016 a second lawsuit was filed by an injured child's parent against Walker and Durham School Services, and alleged the child suffered serious "psychological and emotional injuries" and were seeking damages for medical expenses.http://newschannel9.com/news/local/second-lawsuit-filed-on-behalf-of-woodmore-families Second lawsuit filed on behalf of Woodmore families Ellis Taylor 2016-11-29 WTVC 2019-07-07 On December 5, 2016 a third lawsuit was filed on behalf of an injured student who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash. In addition to naming Walker and the Durham School Services, it also named National Express LLC which is the parent company of Durham School Services. Two more lawsuits were filed on December 7, 2016 against all three groups on behalf of two injured students and allege that Walker was driving negligently and that the injuries the children sustained will be costly and potentially permanent.http://newschannel9.com/news/local/two-more-lawsuits-filed-on-behalf-of-woodmore-elementary-bus-crash-victims Two more lawsuits filed on behalf of Woodmore Elementary bus crash victims WTVC 2016-12-07 WTVC 2019-07-07 References Category:2016 disasters in the United States Category:2016 in Tennessee Category:2016 road incidents Category:Bus incidents in the United States 2016 Chattanooga school bus crash Category:November 2016 in the United States Category:Transportation disasters in Tennessee