The National Transportation Safety Board called for alcohol detection systems in all school buses with the release of its final report of a March 2024 school bus crash in Calhoun County, West Virginia, determining a drunk school bus driver caused the incident.

The NTSB stated in the report released April 23 that a 77-passenger, 2022 IC school bus was carrying a driver and 19 students, aged 11 to 18. The crash occurred during the third trip of the day, an activity run, for bus driver Jeffery Allen Brannon, third bus trip. According to video footage from the school bus, Brannon began the run at 5:44 p.m. NTSB stated Brannon arrived at the middle and high school at 5:45 p.m. to pick up students and left the school about 5:47 p.m., after the students boarded the bus.

“About three minutes after the bus left the school, the video footage showed the school bus as it approached a left-hand curve while traveling at a speed of around 42 mph,” the report states, noting the two-lane road has a posted speed limit of 55 mph. “As the [Brannon] executed the curve, the bus departed the right side of the paved roadway. Video from the bus showed that the bus’s speed was 39 mph when it departed the road.”

Upon leaving the road, the bus continued to follow the curve, struck the end of the culvert with its right-front tire, continued south, and then struck a wooden fence. The bus began to yaw counterclockwise as it reentered the roadway. The bus right-rear tire struck the culvert end, and the bus rolled a quarter turn onto its right (loading door) side. The bus came to rest on its right side across both lanes, completely blocking the southbound lane and partially blocking the northbound lane.

Three students were seriously injured, 16 had minor injuries. and Brannon was uninjured.

The NTSB determined the probable cause was Brannon’s alcohol impairment, which led to loss of control, roadway departure and the rollover. Post-crash toxicology tests showed his BAC at 0.161 grams per deciliter about 50 minutes after the crash and 0.127 grams per deciliter about one and a half hours after the crash, NTSB stated in the report.

The 0.161 BAC is over four times the federal limit for commercial drivers.

The agency issued a recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that all new school buses be equipped with a vehicle-integrated alcohol detection system that prevents or limits operation when driver alcohol impairment is detected.

Brannon was found guilty on three counts of DUI, causing serious bodily injury and 16 counts of child neglect creating a risk of serious bodily injury or death. He was sentenced to between 22 years and 110 years in prison.

Drunk School Bus Drivers an Increasing Problem

An NTSB press release states that a Stateline investigation “found that from 2015 through 2019, 118 school bus drivers nationwide were cited or arrested for operating a bus while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both.”

School bus industry trainer Dick Fischer collects news article reports about drunk school bus drivers among other safety topics. He said he found 28 instances of school bus drivers arrested for either driving drunk or under the influence of drugs during the 2024-2025 school year. For this school year so far, August through April, Fischer has recorded 20 instances of school bus drivers being impaired.

Meanwhile, the NTSB also “noted that active and passive alcohol detection technologies already exist that can prevent a vehicle from operating if driver alcohol impairment is detected,” the press release adds. “These systems are being used successfully on school buses in parts of Europe as a preventive safety measure.”

It also found that the lack of passenger lap/shoulder seatbelts on the school bus contributed to injury severity. The report noted that unbelted students were thrown into the bus interior and other students. The agency said students struck seats, windows, sidewalls, the roof area, personal items, and other passengers during the rollover sequence. One serious injury ultimately resulted in a lower-leg amputation.

The agency reiterated that properly worn lap/shoulder seatbelts reduce injuries and that policy must go beyond installing belts, but also districts need to enforce usage procedures. It recommends that West Virginia school bus passengers use seatbelts when available and school districts should establish usage procedures with routine audits. Audits should consist of pre-departure driver instruction, periodic belt-use inspections, video review where cameras exist and training for not only administrations and drivers, but parents and students as well.

Related: Alleged Drunk Driving Lands Oregon School Bus Driver in Jail
Related: West Virginia School Bus Driver Faces Sentence After DUI Crash
Related: West Virginia School Bus Driver Accused of DUI, Accepts Guilty Plea
Related: South Carolina School Bus Driver Charged with DUI While Transporting Students

As part of this crash, the NTSB also examined a similar crash that took place in Dale, Texas, where unbelted students were thrown about the interior of a school bus. In March 2024, a concrete truck driven by Jerry Hernandez struck a Hays CISD school bus, killing 5-year-old Ulises Montoya who. The bus, carrying 44 students and 11 adults, was returning from a field trip. Hernandez, who confessed to using drugs and having little sleep, was sentenced to 18 years in prison but became eligible for parole in April 2026.

Related: Truck Driver Admitted Cocaine Use Before Fatal Texas School Bus Crash
Related: Texas School District Adopts Accelerated Seatbelt Plan Following Fatal Bus Crash

NTSB reiterated to West Virginia that it require all new large school buses to be equipped with passenger lap/shoulder belts at all passenger seating positions.

In the report, the NTSB noted that video cameras were important for investigation and support compliance. The school bus involved in the crash had seven cameras, including interior cameras that showed driver actions, passenger movement, vehicle speed and the crash sequence. It found that weather, roadway condition/signage, school bus speed, mechanical condition, driver licensing/training/experience, non-alcohol drugs, distraction from phone/students/loading doors, Calhoun County Board of Education policies, medical condition and fatigue were not causal or contributory factors.

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The National Transportation Safety Board recounted the incidents leading up to the fatal March 27 Clarksville-Montgomery County School System bus crash with release of a preliminary report, but the agency won’t know or release the exact cause for another year and a half.

NTSB wrote in its preliminary report that the crash occurred April 16 at about 11:35 a.m. A Clarksville-Montgomery school bus was traveling west on US-70 in Carroll County, Tennessee, a two-lane roadway with a 55-mph speed limit. The school bus was occupied by the driver, named in a lawsuit as Sabrina Ducksworth, four adult chaperones and 24 student passengers. Ducksworth was taking students from Kenwood Middle School to a school event in Jackson.

At the same time, a 2013 International WorkStar dump truck operated by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and occupied by a driver and passenger as well as a 2014 Chevrolet Trailblazer sport utility, also occupied by a driver and passenger, were traveling east in the oncoming lane. The weather was clear and the roadway was dry.

As the school bus approached a curve in the highway, it crossed the centerline and entered the eastbound lane. NTSB said the left side of the school bus struck the left side of the dump truck in a sideswipe collision. After hitting the dump truck, the school bus then collided with the SUV, departed the roadway to the south, and came to rest facing down the roadside embankment. The school bus remained upright.

Two student school bus fatalities resulted. Local media outlets identified the students as two eighth-grade girls: Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson, both 13 years old. School bus driver Ducksworth sustained serious injuries. Bus passenger injuries ranged from minor to serious and the two occupants of the dump truck also sustained serious injuries. The NTSB stated that occupants of the SUV were uninjured.

Related: Update: Tennessee Crash Kills 2 Students During Field Trip
Related: Chattanooga School Bus Driver Receives 4-Year Prison Sentence
Related: Florida Driver Arrested After Train Strikes School Bus Carrying 29 Students
Related: First Responders Critical in School Bus Emergencies

NTSB Preliminary Report Follows Filing of Lawsuit

As STN previously reported, the parents of Davis filed a wrongful death lawsuit in response to the school bus fatalities. The family seeks a jury award of up to $5 million.

The suit alleges that Ducksworth was distracted, fatigued, reckless, and failed to follow training, traffic laws and lane discipline. The lawsuit also claims the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System was negligent in hiring, training and supervising her. The lawsuit additionally argues the district failed to adequately check her fitness for the job before hiring her.

However, others in local media reports or on social media expressed that Duckworth may have suffered a medical episode.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are aiding in the investigation, which remains under investigation. NTSB told School Transportation News it cannot share details of what the FMCSA is assisting on, but said all NTSB investigations operate under what a “Party System,” which allows the agency to bring in technical experts from other organizations to supplement the knowledge of our investigators.”

The post NTSB Preliminary Report Details Fatal Tennessee School Bus Crash appeared first on School Transportation News.

CONCORD, N.C. — Federal safety officials are urging stronger seatbelt usage by students and increased awareness of dangers around school buses following a series of high-profile crashes, including a recent fatal incident under investigation in Tennessee.

In providing the parting takeways at STN EXPO East conference last month, Meg Sweeney, lead investigator and project manager for the National Transportation Safety Board, outlined how ongoing investigations and previous crash reconstructions are shaping new safety recommendations aimed at protecting student passengers and pedestrians.

“Our mission is to investigate crashes, determine a probable cause and then write recommendations to prevent future similar crashes,” Sweeney told attendees during the final conference session March 31.

The NTSB recently launched a “go team” to Tennessee after a fatal school bus crash killed two middle school students, though Sweeney said details remained limited in the early stages of the investigation. The crash took the lives of two middle school girls and parents of the deceased have since filed a lawsuit against the district and the driver.

The agency is also examining a separate student dragging fatality, underscoring the risks students face not only inside the bus but also in Danger Zone, the area immediately surrounding the vehicle during loading and unloading.

Sweeney said the agency focuses on crashes with the greatest potential to improve safety outcomes. With only about 35 staff members in its highway division, the NTSB investigates roughly 15 to 20 crashes annually out of tens of thousands reported nationwide.

“With a staff of 35 people… we have to be really selective in the crashes that we investigate,” she said, noting that cases often involve recurring safety issues or high public interest.

A key focus of recent investigations has been occupant protection, particularly the effectiveness of lap/shoulder seatbelts compared to traditional lap-only restraints or compartmentalization.

“We know and recognize that there are several other types of crashes,” Sweeney said, explaining that while compartmentalization works well in frontal impacts, it is less effective in rollovers, side impacts and other complex crash scenarios.

In multiple investigations, including crashes in Texas and New Jersey, the agency found lap-only belts provide limited protection. “They can provide a benefit… if they’re worn properly,” Sweeney said, but passengers remain “very vulnerable to injury from the flailing upper body.”

In the Leander ISD Texas rollover crash, that Director of Transportation Tracie Franco also presented during the conference, only six of 42 observed students were wearing seatbelts, and most were wearing them incorrectly. Students who were restrained were less likely to be thrown from their seats or ejected, though injuries still occurred due to the severity of the crash.

Based on such findings, the NTSB has repeatedly called on states to require lap/shoulder belts on large school buses and to strengthen enforcement of proper usage through driver training, onboard monitoring and clearer district policies.

Danger Zone Risks Examined

Beyond the bus interior, Sweeney emphasized that some of the most dangerous moments for students occur outside the vehicle.

One of the most dangerous areas for the student is the zone within about 10 feet of the bus, she said, particularly during pickup and drop-off times.

In a 2018 Indiana crash, a pickup truck traveling about 41 mph struck and killed four students crossing to board a stopped school bus despite warning lights and an extended stop-arm.

Other cases have highlighted the role of distracted driving. In Wisconsin, a teenage driver exchanging text messages struck a school bus and fatally hit a student moments later.

To address these risks, the NTSB has recommended stronger enforcement of stop-arm violations, expanded use of camera systems to catch illegal passing, and new vehicle technologies such as automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection systems.

“We asked school districts to work with law enforcement to create educational campaigns and high-visibility enforcement,” Sweeney said.

Despite the risks and ongoing challenges, Sweeney stressed that school buses remain the safest form of student transportation in the U.S.

“We advocate and tell people school buses are the safest way to transport a student,” she said.

Still, industry leaders at the session warned that driver shortages, operational challenges and declining ridership could increase risks if more families rely on personal vehicles instead of buses.

The Tennessee crash investigation is expected to produce a preliminary report in the coming months, with a final report, including safety recommendations, likely more than a year away.

Written with assistance from AI.

Related: California School Bus Report Shows Lap/Shoulder Seatbelts Reduce Injuries
Related: NTSB Calls for Seatbelt Polices, Procedures Following Texas School Bus Crash
Related: School Bus Seatbelt Law Appears Imminent in Illinois
Related: (STN Podcast E251) Making Safety Safer: Seatbelts, Technology, Training & Electric School Buses

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“Distracted driving is 100 percent preventable, yet too many people give the road far less than 100 percent of their attention,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Jonathan Morrison said during a press event April 1.

NHTSA officials kicked off National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and unveiled a renewed national enforcement and education effort aimed at curbing one of the most persistent dangers on U.S. roadways. Also speaking was Derek Barrs, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA); Michael Paris, chief of Fairfield, Connecticut Police; and Patty Kruszewski, who lost her daughter in a distracted driving crash.

The agency is launching its enforcement campaign, “Put the Phone Away or Pay” April 9–13, pairing high-visibility law enforcement with a broad media push targeting drivers, particularly those ages 18 to 34. Officials say the goal is to change behavior before another preventable tragedy occurs.

“We cannot be satisfied until we get that number down to zero,” Morrison said, noting that while traffic fatalities have begun to decline, tens of thousands of lives are still lost each year.

Despite recent progress, distracted driving remains a major factor in roadway crashes nationwide. Federal data cited during the press event notes that more than 33,000 people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2024, with hundreds of thousands more injured.

Officials emphasized that those numbers likely undercount the true scope of the problem, as distraction can be difficult to confirm after a crash.

“Behind every statistic … that’s a human life,” Barrs said.

Wisconsin Crash

A 13-year-old was struck and killed by a 17-year-old motorists who wasn’t paying attention and reportedly on his phone. The 13-year-old was attempting to board the school bus, when she was struck and hit by the motorists who side-swiped the bus and hit the child on the right side.

 

Following the crash, he NTSB recommended that NHTSA develop and publish “Driver Distraction Guidelines that address the design of current original equipment in-vehicle electronic devices, portable electronic devices and aftermarket electronic devices to prevent driver distraction.”

 

The agency also reiterated its recommendation to cell phone manufacturers to develop a “distracted driving lock-out mechanism that will automatically disable any driver-distracting functions when a vehicle is in motion and install the mechanism in the default setting on all new devices and apply it during major software updates.”

 

Five more recommendations were reiterated to NHTSA following the crash. NTSB calls for NHTSA to develop and apply testing protocols to assess the performance of forward collision avoidance systems in passenger vehicles at various velocities, including high speed and high velocity-differential. It also calls on the agency to expand the New Car Assessment Program 5-star rating system to include a scale that rates the performance of forward collision avoidance and to develop performance test criteria for vehicle designs that reduce injuries to pedestrians.

 

NTSB also wants NHTSA to develop performance test criteria for manufacturers to use in evaluating the extent to which automated pedestrian safety systems in light vehicles will prevent or mitigate pedestrian injury and incorporate pedestrian safety systems, including pedestrian collision avoidance systems and other more passive safety systems, into the New Car Assessment Program. Additionally, Ford Motor Company is urged to install forward collision avoidance systems that include, at minimum, a forward collision warning component as standard equipment on all new vehicles.

Distracted driving is especially dangerous around school buses, where children may unpredictably enter the roadway. Even a momentary glance at a phone can mean the difference between stopping in time, or not.

“Just even one injury or death on our roadways due to distraction … is way too many,” Barrs said.

A recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that a 17-year-old driver was using his cellphone when he struck and killed a 13-year-old student who was preparing to board a school bus in Wisconsin. In its final report on the crash, the NTSB called for stronger enforcement, education and technology solutions to protect students during loading and unloading.

Related: NTSB Says Cell Phone Distraction Cause of 2023 Wisconsin Student Fatality
Related: Wisconsin Child Fatally Struck by Car While Waiting for School Bus

Meanwhile, on Monday, Paris stressed that visible enforcement is critical, but not enough on its own. “We need every driver to make a simple but critical choice — put the phone down, slow down, pay attention,” he said.

During the campaign week, officers across the country will increase patrols and actively ticket drivers caught using handheld devices. The effort is supported by a national media campaign, both English and Spanish.

At its core, the campaign returns to a straightforward message: no notification is worth a life. Officials and safety advocates alike are urging drivers to make that decision before they start the engine: Silence the phone, set it aside and stay focused.

Because, as Morrison noted, it only takes seconds for distraction to change lives forever.

Related: (STN Podcast E297) Deep Dive into Safety: Illegal Passing & Child Restraints, Plus Green Bus Funding
Related: Action Plan Puts National Spotlight on Hidden Toll of Illegal Passing
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Kruszewski told the story of her daughter, Lanie, who at 24 years old was struck and killed while biking home from work in 2012. The driver later admitted he never saw her because he was looking at his phone. Kruszewski said the tragedy underscored how quickly a seemingly small decision, checking a message, can destroy lives.

It “took just one text” to take her daughter’s life and forever change her family, she said.

Behind officials during the announcement stood an installation of hundreds of hanging car keys, each representing a person injured in a distracted driving crash. The display included about 4,000 keys — symbolizing just a fraction of the victims hurt in 2024.

But officials noted that if the exhibit reflected the full scale of the crisis — more than 315,000 people injured in distracted driving crashes that year — it would stretch across half a football field.

“In just the time we’ve been talking today, another 18 people have now been injured in distracted driving crashes,” Morrison said near the close of the event.

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Before a school bus incident even happens, it’s important for student transportation professionals to be aware of federal safety recommendations and crash investigation procedures. Meg Sweeney from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be at STN EXPO East to give attendees the latest updates.

Her session “NTSB Investigations & Recommendations: Lap/Shoulder Seat Belts to the School Bus Danger Zone” on March 31 wraps up the conference by outlining various facets of school bus crash investigations. She will discuss occupant protection, which will include NTSB recommendations on lap/shoulder seatbelts and their safety impact during crashes, and shed light on “Danger Zone” crashes, including incidents where vehicles struck stopped school buses or hit a pedestrian.

Sweeney will provide attendees with background on the NTSB and its mission to further safety for students and transportation staff. Attendees will also learn about how NTSB conducts investigations and what school districts can expect when NTSB investigators arrive on scene of a school bus crash.

She will also provide insights into NTSB school bus investigations of high-profile crashes and incidents, including one in Maine that killed a 5-year-old boy, who was dragged 280 feet after the school bus loading doors closed on his arm while he attempted to board. Sweeney also worked on the development of recently released urgent recommendations related to an August crash in Leander, Texas and the use of lap/shoulder seatbelts to prevent student injuries and fatalities.

Sweeney is an accident investigator and project manager in the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety. She has also worked in the NTSB Safety Studies Division, where she studied child restraint safety, multi-passenger van safety and operator fatigue, as well as at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

STN EXPO East will be held March 26-31 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte Concord Golf Resort & Spa in Concord, North Carolina. Over the five-day conference, attendees will have access to the best in student transportation training, including hands-on training and events, educational sessions, product demonstration labs, green energy panel discussions, an inspirational keynote address, the STN EXPO Trade Show, the Ride and Drive at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and more. Register now at stnexpo.com/east.  

Related: STN EXPO East to Feature Illegal Passing Trends, Safety Recommendations
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