Driver indicted in bus-train crash
BENTON, Tenn. — Rhonda Cloer, who was at the wheel of the Murray County, Ga., school bus that was rammed by a CSX freight train at a rail crossing at the Tennessee-Georgia border on March 28, has been indicted on three counts of vehicular homicide. The Polk County, Tenn., grand jury also indicted Cloer on four counts of reckless aggravated assault and on charges of failing to stop a school bus at a railroad crossing. After being indicted, Cloer was released on $5,000 bail. Cloer was driving a school bus carrying seven students, including her daughter Kayli, on the morning of March 28 when the bus was hit by a 33-car freight train carrying automobiles. Two children — Kayla Silvers and Daniel Pack — died at the scene, and another child, Amber Pritchett, died a day later. Several others were badly injured, including Cloer and her daughter, who continues to undergo rehabilitation. The rail crossing was unprotected by a gate or warning lights, and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators say the sight distance was insufficient. Some of the vegetation has been cut back in the wake of the accident. The Tennessee Highway Patrol and NTSB say the video surveillance camera on the bus showed that Cloer failed to stop at the rail crossing, a violation of accepted school bus safety procedures. According to NTSB officials, videotapes collected from Cloer’s routes documented nine other instances in which she failed to stop at the same crossing. A black box event recorder aboard the train indicated that it sounded its horn eight seconds before the crash. Cloer’s mother, Martha West, told the Chattanooga Times newspaper that her daughter is distraught. “It’s been hard on all of us,” she said. A hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 11.
Jail term for intoxicated driver
ADDISON, Ill. — A school bus driver in suburban Chicago was sentenced to 120 days in jail and 30 months’ probation after admitting that she was drunk while driving a school bus earlier this year. Marlene Powell of Addison, Ill., pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence. Her blood-alcohol reading was found to be .175, more than twice the legal limit, after she pulled her bus off the road during a Jan. 3 route. Powell, who was fired by Cottage Hill Operating Co. after her arrest, pulled over while transporting 25 high school students because she thought she was having a diabetic reaction. A routine blood test showed that she was legally drunk. Powell had been a bus driver for 20 years. She apologized for her lapse and admitted to having a drinking problem. Her employer said she had never failed random drug and alcohol tests.
