More on Pendleton County School Bus Fatality

1 Dead, 12 Injured In Pendleton Co. School Bus Crash
Dozen People Sent To Hospital

FALMOUTH, Ky. -- One student was killed and a dozen more people were injured in a northern Kentucky school bus crash.

The crash happened Thursday morning shortly after 7 a.m. when the Pendleton County Schools bus and a dump truck passed each other on state Route 22 near Ballinger Road.

Authorities confirmed that 15-year-old Danny Wood was killed in the crash...

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Ground Video: School Bus Crash Scene

This from the KyPost.com:

Parent: Crash "A Tragic Ordeal"

Ricky Maxwell was sitting at the kitchen table of his Pendleton County home Thursday morning when he received a call that no parent ever wants to get.

On the line was his 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who his wife had just dropped off to take the bus to Pendleton County High School.Over the phone, Elizabeth said the bus had been in an accident.

Maxwell, wearing only pajamas and a bathrobe, jumped into his car and headed to the scene.

He's been a paramedic for 14 years and thought he could help.When he arrived on the scene, he saw a triple-axle dump truck on its side. Down the road was the school bus with the rear portion of the driver's side of the vehicle heavily damaged.Ten injured students were in a nearby house and police were evaluating their conditions as life squads were heading to the scene...

This from KyPost.com:

State To Investigate Crash

The fatal school bus crash in Pendleton County will be examined by state education officials to ensure there are no shortcomings in state transportation safety standards.

Kentucky Department of Education transportation safety officials were en route to Pendleton County Thursday to talk with the driver of the bus involved in the fatal crash and school officials, according to department spokeswoman Lisa Gross.

She said such reviews are routine after a serious school bus accident and that they helps the department know if standards for buses need to be reexamined, [o]r if there are problems with bus routes or other concerns to be dealt with at the state level.She said the department does not keep a central database on bus accidents around the state but that the state’s bus safety record is good.

She said the last death stemming from a school bus accident occurred some four or five years ago in western Kentucky in a crash in which the school bus rolled over and a student was ejected...

...Gross said the Pendleton County accident could prompt calls for seat belts on school buses -- something not required in Kentucky. She said the commonwealth follows the federal recommendation on seat belts, which is to not equip school buses with them...

Hat Tip to Brad @ KSBA:

Student Killed in Pendleton School Bus/Dump Truck Crash

This from the Enquirer, Photo by Patrick Reddy:

1 killed in school bus crash

PENDLETON COUNTY - A teenage boy was killed this morning after a dump truck sideswiped his school bus on Ky. 22 around 7 a.m.

The accident occurred on a rural stretch of Ky. 22 near Ballinger Road.

Residents of the area said the westbound dump truck hit the end of the eastbound school bus in a curve in the rural, two lane road. The rear driver's side of the school bus suffered extensive damage.One student on the bus was killed. The 10 other students on the bus were taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Grant County. Their injuries were described as minor. Both drivers were also taken to the hospital. All had been treated and released by 10:30 a.m.

Christa Moore, spokesperson for St. Elizabeth, said the children ranged in age from 5 to 16 years old." Any time you're dealing with children, there is a lot of emotion that goes into it," Moore said. "They were all scared."

During a news conference this morning, Pendleton County Sheriff C.W. "Craig" Peoples declined to discuss details of the accident and would not confirm that the person who was killed was a student on the bus. He said both the bus driver and dump truck driver will be tested for drugs and alcohol, which is standard procedure in accidents of this nature....

...Dina Dennie heard the crash while she and her kids were getting ready in their house around 7 a.m. Her 17-year-old daughter Sadie ran outside and was the first person on the scene. She brought the injured children inside their house while her mother called 911 and the school, Dina Dennie said.

"I could feel my body go weak. I heard the kids screaming, 'Help me! Help me!'," she said...

No charges in fatal Pendleton bus crash

This from the Enquirer:

FALMOUTH - A Pendleton County grand jury declined this morning to indict a man accused of causing a wreck that killed a teenage boy in May.

"In regard to the events of May 1, 2008 regarding the accident on Kentucky Route 22 resulting in the tragic death of Daniel Wood, a student at Pendleton County High School, the grand jury finds that while the accident had to have been the result of negligence, based on the evidence available at this time, the grand jury has elected to return a no true bill," the grand jury wrote.

Doug Wright, Commonwealth's Attorney for Pendleton County, said the grand jury had been asked to consider the charge of reckless homicide. But that would not have barred the jury from indicting Francisco Yulfo on other charges, he said.

Wright said prosecutors presented all the information they had in the case. One witness was called; Pendleton County Sheriff Craig Peoples testified about the investigation into the crash, including blood tests done on both drivers and the results of the accident reconstruction.

Peoples said the final investigation report indicated Yulfo was traveling within the legal speed limit, which is 55 mph. The suggested speed limit at the site of the crash, a sharp curve in the road, is 35 mph - but that's an advisory speed, not the legal limit.

Yulfo was driving a dump truck that crossed the center line of Ky. 22 west around 7 a.m. May 1. The truck struck a school bus carrying about a dozen students. Daniel Wood, 16, was killed instantly.

An attorney for Yulfo could not immediately be reached for comment.Wood's family has filed a civil lawsuit against Yulfo and his employer, XXL Trucking in West Liberty, Ky.

The lawsuit alleges negligence by both parties, who have filed motions to dismiss the case.

Wood's family is also lobbying the state to make improvements to Ky. 22 west, a curvy two-lane road that residents of the area say can be dangerous, especially with increased construction traffic in recent years. Yulfo was carrying a load of rock to a construction site in Grant County at the time of the crash.

Returning a no true bill is not the same as dismissing the case, so the case could be presented to a grand jury at a later date if new information comes to light. There is no statute of limitation on felonies. But Peoples said the case is now considered closed.

KSN&C Backstory.

Suit filed over fatal bus crash

This from the Enquirer:

'Parents are devastated'

after boy, 16, killed

FALMOUTH - 16-year-old Daniel Wood was a caring and attentive big brother to his 12-year-old brother, Travis, and 5-year-old sister, Jordan.

They were on the school bus with him when it was struck by a dump truck Thursday morning. Officials said Daniel was killed on impact.

Travis was sitting in front of his big brother when the truck struck. He helped get injured students off the bus and then tried to go back for Daniel, said Phil Taliaferro, an attorney for the family.

"The parents are devastated. It's just awful," he said. "This is a tragedy that, in their lives, is unparalleled." Taliaferro filed a lawsuit Friday, alleging negligence by the company and the driver...

...Taliaferro's lawsuit in Pendleton Circuit Court alleges negligence by the company and the driver. He filed for a court order to preserve company records about maintenance on the truck and Yulfo's training, personnel and cell-phone records. A hearing is Wednesday.
This year, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet conducted a routine safety check on Ky. 22, which included inspections of guardrails and road signs. No problems were detected, said Transportation Cabinet District 6 Spokeswoman Nancy Wood, who is not related to the victim.

She said 96 vehicle accidents have occurred on Ky. 22 between Williamstown and U.S. 27 since Jan. 1, 2005. Forty-five occurred in Grant County and 51 in Pendleton County.

Daniel was the only fatality, she said.

Capt. Keith Craycraft, commander of Kentucky State Police Post 6 in Dry Ridge, said troopers regularly patrol the road, which he said isn't any more dangerous than other curvy, rural roads in the area.

Residents of Ky. 22 said truck drivers and motorcyclists frequently speed there, but investigators have not determined whether speed was a factor in Thursday's fatal crash.

• Photos: Pendleton County bus crash

• Listen to emergency calls

School bus crash death going to grand jury in July

From H-L:

FALMOUTH, Ky. --A published report said northern Kentucky prosecutors plan to present evidence to a grand jury next month in a crash between a school bus and a dump truck that killed a teenager.

The Enquirer's Kentucky editions reported Friday the case will go to a Pendleton County grand jury July 23.