Bus driver cited for careless driving in fatal crash
Albert Hazen receives the citation after the Florida State Attorney’s Office reviews an investigation report from the Florida Highway Patrol, which finds that no drugs, alcohol or texting were involved, but Hazen was inattentive when he turned into the path of a semitrailer. The assistant state attorney says that nothing leading up to the crash, nor the crash itself, was a criminal offense.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Authorities have said that a school bus driver will be cited for careless driving in a fatal crash that occurred in March, TCPalm reports.
As previously reported, the Florida Highway Patrol turned over its findings on the crash to the State Attorney’s Office for review, and the outcome would determine if former St. Lucie County School District bus driver Albert Hazen would be cited for a traffic offense or charged criminally for the crash that killed one student and injured many others.
Assistant State Attorney Bernard Romero told TCPalm that Hazen has been cited for a traffic offense of careless driving. He said that nothing leading up to the crash, nor the crash itself, was a criminal offense. The Florida Highway Patrol’s investigation found that no drugs, alcohol or texting were involved, and Hazen had both hands on the bus’ steering wheel, but he was inattentive when he improperly turned into the path of a semitrailer.
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