Former School Bus Driver Faces Jail Time for Distracted Driving
Stephanie Boyd of New Hampshire faces years in prison for a collision last year in which she downloaded an app on her phone while driving and crashed into a tree. Three students were injured.
BRENTWOOD, N.H. — A former school bus driver is facing years in prison for a collision last year in which she was distracted by her phone and crashed into a tree, New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Stephanie Boyd, a mother of three who had one of her children on the bus with her at the time, stood trial last week for charges related to a crash on Feb. 3, 2015, according to the newspaper. In a recorded interview, Boyd admitted to police that she began downloading a messaging app at an intersection while driving her route, and looked down at her phone to check on the status of the download just before the bus went off the road and hit a tree. Three students were injured in the crash.
The jury returned guilty verdicts on two counts of misdemeanor simple assault for injuries to two of the 11 students on the bus; a felony charge of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon (the bus); and a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, according New Hampshire Union Leader. Jurors did not find Boyd guilty of a felony second-degree assault charge related to a fractured jaw and other injuries suffered by a 13-year-old student aboard the bus. Boyd faces three-and-a-half to seven years in prison on the reckless conduct charge and one year in prison on each of the misdemeanors.
Boyd’s attorney tried to convince jurors that the crash was just an accident, and that her actions did not rise to the level of being reckless, but prosecutors argued that she was reckless and put the lives of students and others at risk, the newspaper reports.
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