NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007
Shocking Video Gets
Altar Valley Bus Driver Fired
December 28, 2006
A school bus driver in
the Altar Valley District is out of a job and facing charges.
That's after district
officials saw video taken by a student, showing riders standing up, play
fighting and even swinging from part of the bus.
Investigators say
42-year-old Fran Yourn was cited and released, charged with two counts
of endangerment.
A parent claims the
driver willingly gave students a wild ride.
Shock and
disbelief...that's what concerned parent Michelle Moreno says she felt
when she saw the footage. She says 26 students, including two of her own
daughters on the bus, were put in serious danger by the very person who
was trusted to keep them safe.
Every day Michelle
Moreno sends her two daughters on the bus from Altar Valley to Marana
High School. Little did she know what her daughters and other students
were experiencing on that bus.
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Shocking video
captured by a student reveals complete chaos, kids horsing
around in a frenzy, out of their seats. "That's scary, I don't
know what else she lets them do on the bus," says Michelle.
But it doesn't
end there. The video also shows two students are hanging off the
emergency roof hanger, as the bus driver slams on the brakes.
"Kids would go flying and I thought oh my God, somebody could
get hurt. That was my concern was the kids, I don't think
someone who acts like that and allows that should be a bus
driver," she says. Michelle showed the footage to the Altar
Valley School District and they immediately fired the bus
driver. |
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"I've been in the
school business for 21 years, I have never seen anything like
this," explains Altar Valley Superintendent Doug Roe.
He says this reckless
driving is in violation of all safety policies. He tells us the number
one rule, never let students out of seats while the bus is moving. All
bus drivers are required to go through safety training before getting
behind the wheel. "It's very clear that the actions of the bus driver
were totally unacceptable, we're investigating to make sure it doesn't
happen again," says Roe.
But Michelle says the
district isn't doing enough, she says all buses should be required to be
supervised by another employee.
"We try to have
monitors on the buses as much as we possibly can but at the present time
we don't have a monitor on every bus," explains Roe.
Michelle and her
husband Frank are thankful no one was hurt. "It's dangerous enough just
driving a bus and to be horsing around like that, I mean lose control
once, have a blow out, there's my kids. They're gone," says Frank.
We did some checking
online and found a number of past violations for Fran Yourn. Between
1995 and 2001, she received five traffic citations with Pima County.
In 1994 she was cited
by the city for driving with no insurance. Yourn was also caught driving
with a suspended license in 1999.
Superintendent Roe says
all bus drivers must undergo three background checks before they are
hired.
Roe tells us they are
looking at possibly taking disciplinary action against the students on
the bus.back to News
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