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Fletcher Describes Deadly School Bus as 'Worst Nightmare'; NTSB Investigation May Last 1 Year

NTSB

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher described the bus crash that killed five Chattanooga elementary school students as "every public safety professional’s worst nightmare." Police arrested the driver, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, and charged him with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and other offenses.

Authorities say one kindergartner, one first-grader, and three fourth-graders from Woodmore Elementary died.

According to the arrest affidavit, Walker was speeding well above the 30 mph limit on narrow, winding Talley Road. He lost control, swerved off the roadway, hit an elevated driveway and mailbox, and the bus began to overturn, striking a telephone pole and a tree.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart says NTSB investigators will be in Chattanooga for seven to ten days, but are here only to speak with witnesses and gather evidence. Determining the cause of the crash--and recommending ways to prevent similar ones--could take up to a year.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is scheduled to visit Woodmore Elementary on Wednesday. 

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