The driver responsible for Tuesday’s crash of a school bus carrying 42 elementary students was looking in a rearview mirror and reaching for his whistle to quiet shouting students when he drifted off the right side of the road, Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger said Thursday during a news conference.
School officials reviewed footage from on-board cameras to determine exactly what happened. They revealed details of an internal investigation during Thursday’s news conference.
Officials previously said there were 44 students onboard, but on Thursday, Snowberger said there were 42 children onboard.
The bus veered off Lightner Creek Road (County Road 207) west of Durango about 3:30 p.m., rolling down a 30- to 40-foot embankment.
The accident shook the student passengers as well as their parents, who pressed the school district for details about the driver’s background and credentials. Parents also reported that several children suffered injuries as severe as a broken leg, broken clavicle, gashes and concussions.
The driver, William J. Farley, 64, of Hesperus, has had a commercial driver’s license since 2007 but had been driving solo for the school district only since Nov. 11 – less than a week – after completing five weeks of training. He was evaluated on eight separate occasions, Snowberger said. Before joining Durango School District, he drove a truck carrying oxygen tanks. He had no accidents prior to joining the school district, Snowberger said.
During his training, Farley did clip a light pole while making a sharp turn, which was reported to parents, Snowberger said. Farley’s training period was extended five days as a result. Asked about other incidents parents have reported about the driver, Snowberger said once the bus got stuck in snow, which is “nothing unusual” for this region.
“We will continue to re-evaluate how we consider minor accidents in the training process,” Snowberger said. “The key is we go through strong scrutiny of our applicants. We turn down many applicants and look for high quality.”
The driver was charged with careless driving, caused by distraction, which could cause him to lose his commercial driver’s license. He will be required to appear in court and may face fines.
Farley declined to discuss the accident Wednesday when reached by The Durango Herald, but he said he loved the kids and regretted what happened. He has been placed on administrative leave while school officials continue to investigate the incident. Colorado State Patrol Cpt. Adrian Driscoll, who was on scene, said the investigation was completed from a law-enforcement perspective. Those records will be available for the public within the next few days, he said.
Snowberger drew attention to the quality of the road in discussing the accident.
“It is a very narrow road,” Snowberger said. “This is no different than many roads we travel in La Plata County. ... There is no shoulder on that road. In some cases, the shoulder is deteriorating.”
Snowberger said the district does not have seat belts on its school buses per the recommendation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But just this month, a top NHTSA official endorsed school bus seat belts. Six states have adopted laws requiring them. Officials said they would explore the matter further.
Ten students and the driver were taken by ambulance to Mercy Regional Medical Center. A couple students were turned over to their parents at the scene of the crash, and the others were taken to Mercy by another bus to be reunited with their parents.
Once at the hospital, six more students were admitted for care, bringing the total to 16 students who received medical attention Tuesday night. Several students were brought back to the hospital this week for further evaluation.
School officials said they will be arranging public meetings in the days to come to discuss the incident and safety issues with the intent of re-establishing trust with families.
jpace@durangoherald.com
