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.
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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.”
