A school bus driver who was killed after she lost control of the vehicle and traveled down a highway embankment was not wearing her three-point seat belt, said state police.
Natchitoches Parish driver Alberta L. Conway, 67, was traveling northbound on state highway 153 about 30 miles outside of city limits without any children at about 6:35 a.m. local time on Tuesday. The 1999 school bus exited the left side of the road just south of state highway 155 and collided with several trees and a fence. Troopers said Conway was not wearing her seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, adding that a medical condition was the primary cause of the crash.
The crash remained under investigation, and routine toxicology tests were pending
“Louisiana State Police would like to take this opportunity to remind/inform motorists that properly wearing your seatbelt will dramatically reduce your chance of being injured or killed in a crash,” read a police statement. “We ask you to take one second to ‘buckle up!'”
Bulletin 119 of Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 28 (Education, Part I) requires that school bus drivers to wear their seat belts at all times the vehicle is in operation.
