JUNE 5, 2015
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
(WBIR - Knoxville)
Knoxville police blame a school bus driver texting for the
deadly December 2014 crash that killed two students and a teacher's aide. Unfortunately the driver has just died at his
home, so criminal charges are not going to be filed in this case.
The results of a six-month comprehensive investigation by
the Knoxville Police Department into the cause of the deadly collision between
two Knox County school buses were released Friday.
KPD said 48-year-old James Davenport was driving while
distracted, due to sending and receiving text messages, while driving Bus No.
44. He made a sharp left turn, crossed a concrete median, and crashed into
another school bus on Asheville Highway near Governor John Sevier Highway.
The investigation revealed Davenport sent and received
multiple text messages during the time leading up to the crash.
KPD said, "The investigators were committed to finding
the cause of the crash whether it be from human error, a mechanical issue,
weather related or a combination of factors."
The investigation included numerous interviews, evidence
analysis, and bus crash experts.
As the investigation neared conclusion, KPD learned of
Davenport's death.
Davenport suffered severe injuries during the crash. The
48-year-old died June 1, 2015, at the home he shared with his mother on
Maynardville Pike in Knox County.
Officials are awaiting autopsy results from the medical
examiner before announcing the cause of death. The preliminary report listed a
"natural death" for Davenport. If Davenport's death is deemed to have
directly result of injuries sustained in the December crash, the accident
report could be updated to list four fatalities.
According to the deputy district attorney general, Kyle
Hixson, Davenport cannot be charged with any criminal charges after his death.
"Due to Mr. Davenport's death, we are legally unable to
pursue any criminal charges against him," explained Hixson in a press
conference Friday. "We always want to seek justice; that's why we're here,
that's why we do what we do. So the fact that in some measure, these families
were not able to have that, that is upsetting."
However, the families of crash victims have filed wrongful
death lawsuits in civil court against the owner of the bus driven by Davenport.
The violent collision on the afternoon of Dec. 2, 2014,
flipped Bus No. 57 from Sunnyview Primary School on its side. The impact killed
six-year-old Zykia Burns, seven-year-old Seraya Glasper, and 46-year-old
teacher's aide Kimberly Riddle. All three were dead when emergency crews
arrived at the scene.
Over the course of the past two days investigators have been
meeting with the victims' family members to share the results of the
investigation. This has been a very difficult procedure for all involved, and
hopefully, this has provided the families another step in their healing
process.
Knoxville attorney Gregory P. Isaacs, who represents the
families of Glasper and Riddle, said Davenport's death would not change plans
to file a wrongful death lawsuit "in the very near future."
"Our sympathies go out to the Davenport family and this
is a very unfortunate tragedy," Isaacs said on Tuesday. "But our
focus is on our clients... who are individuals of tremendous faith and courage
who lost loved ones in this tragedy."
The grieving process in the last six months has been intense
for local churches and schools in Knox County. In May, the Sunnyview Primary
School planted three river birch trees on campus in memory of Burns, Glasper,
and Riddle.
The trees were donated by Whittle Springs Middle School. A
mural has also been painted in the lobby of the school in honor of the victims.
KPD has turned over its investigative to the Knox County
District Attorney General's Office.
"[Texting and driving is] a minor penalty in and of
itself, but if it leads to other things, the consequences could be much more
serious," said Hixson.
Though there will be no criminal charges filed in this case,
Hixson explained for other drivers, "Anytime you kill someone, as the
driver of the car, you're subjecting yourself to criminal liability. Vehicular
homicide is, of course, a very serious felony."
Source: http://www.wbir.com