Report: Bus driver was 'drowsy' on day of fatal crash

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — A Carroll County school bus driver in a fatal crash in October 2010 might have been experiencing the side-effects of cough medicine at the time, according to a police report.

Kenneth Ross Herringdine was sentenced Tuesday to a year of probation and received a $600 fine for failing to stay in his lane, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Students on the bus told investigators that Herringdine appeared drowsy while operating the bus, according to a Georgia State Patrol investigative report.

Herringdine tested negative for alcohol or illicit drugs after the crash, but had traces of brompheniramine in his system — an ingredient used in cough medicine that can cause sleepiness, fatigue or dizziness.

Rashawn James "Ray Ray" Walker, 17, died from injuries he sustained during the accident. He was thrown through a window and was rolled over by the bus. Thirteen other students sustained injuries.

Herringdine was scheduled to take his test to become a full-time driver the day after the accident occurred.

His trainer, Sheri Lyn Davis, who was on the bus at the time of the incident, told investigators she was worried about his performance and that students were afraid to ride with him the afternoon they loaded the bus, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.