CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — The school bus driver trainee involved in a crash that killed a Carroll County student last week had trouble keeping an empty bus in its own lane along that same route, according to personnel records obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
Documents Show Bus Driver Trainee Had Earlier Trouble
Kenneth Herringdine was behind the wheel of the school bus when it ran off the road, killing 17-year old RaShaun Walker. The bus had been carrying Walker and other students to vocational school.
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Among the records, a driver's skills evaluation form dated Sept. 23, just days before the Oct. 4 crash.
It contains a note written by a bus driver trainer. The note reads "Mr. Herringdine, especially or more so when driving to and from vocation tech, veers out of his lane, crossing either white or the yellow lines a lot." The bus was empty at the time of the evaluation. Bus Crash Document 1 IM This is the Driver's Skills Evaluation form dated September 23rd. It's signed by trainer Sheri Davis who also happened to be on the bus when it crashed October 4th.
The report was signed by bus driver trainer Sheri Davis, who ironically was on board the bus when it crashed a week and a half later.
Davis also wrote that Herringdine "stops abruptly" and "needs to be conscious of speed!" But she also wrote "his driving has started to show signs of improvement." The morning of the crash, a senior trainer recorded Herringdine had satisfactory scores on his driver's skills evaluation.
In a written statement, the Carroll County School System stated that Herringdine had his commercial driver's license for 20 years and was qualified to transport students.
Last week, the school system first stated that he had the "S" license endorsement needed to drive a school bus, then admitted he did not.
The school system later said Department of Education bus driver regulations were confusing, and it believed the regulations allowed a trainee without that endorsement to drive a bus full of students so long as they had passed the written test and had a trainer on board.
Bus Crash Document 2 IM On the back of the report, Davis wrote that Kenneth Herringdine had trouble keeping an empty school bus in it's lane.
An analyst with the Georgia Department of Drivers' Services added to the confusion by writing an e-mail to districts all across Georgia stating Carroll County had done nothing wrong and had done the same kind of training other school districts had done.
That same day a DDS spokesperson said no one is allowed to drive a school bus without that "S" endorsement.
"(Herringdine's) past driving experience proves his qualification to operate a commercial vehicle and transport students," the Carroll County School System said in a written statement. "He has driven students for various collegiate athletic trips, mission trips across the country..."
The Georgia State Patrol has not made a ruling yet as to the cause of the crash.
WSBTV
