CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The injured children were so young and frightened that many couldn’t spell their names. Some couldn’t remember their birthdays or their parents’ names — just “Momma” when asked.
As survivors of a Chattanooga school bus crash began to arrive in the pediatric emergency room, Dr. Darvey Koller could see the devastation in their eyes.
“Many of them were scared or too dazed to talk to us,” Koller said at a news conference Tuesday.
Thirty-five children had been riding on a bus police said was traveling too fast Monday afternoon when it veered off a narrow, winding road and crashed into a tree on the way home from elementary school.
Five children died in the crash. Twenty-three were taken to area hospitals, where 12 remained Tuesday evening — six still in critical condition.
The bus driver, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. Police said Walker was driving well over the posted 30 mph limit when he lost control of the bus, which was not equipped with seat belts.
He was jailed, with bail set at $107,500, on charges that also included reckless driving and reckless endangerment. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. A court appearance is scheduled Nov. 29.
Media outlets have reported parents complained before the crash about the bus speeding through the neighborhood. The Hamilton County School Board has repeatedly refused to confirm whether it received complaints involving Walker, who was employed by an outside bus contractor, Durham School Services.
Three of the children killed were in fourth grade, one was in first grade and another in kindergarten, said Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent of Hamilton County schools. Their families were notified, but their names were not released. All the children went to Woodmore Elementary School.
Reeling from the tragedy, Chattanoogans lined up to donate blood and created a memorial of flowers and stuffed toys at the crash scene.
“The most unnatural thing in the world is for a parent to mourn the loss of a child,” Mayor Andy Berke said. “There are no words that can bring comfort to a mother or a father.”
