Bus Driver Who Sparked Cellphone-Ban Debate Is Involved In Second Fatal AccidentBus Driver Who Sparked Cellphone-Ban Debate Is Involved In Second Fata

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Posted on 20th February 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Some people never learn from their mistakes, and the innocent suffer. The bus driver who sparked a national debate on motorists using cellphones after a 1999 accident which killed a 2-year-old girl has been involved in another fatal crash.

On Wednesday Frederick Poust III, 38, of Schwenksville, Pa., was driving a school bus in Montgomery County about 30 miles from Philadelphia when he hit a Honda Civic. Poust allegedly turned in front of the Civic, killing passenger Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville, Pa., and hospitalizing its driver, Freddy Carroll, 41, of Perkiomenville, Pa.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/84762257.html

Five students on the bus suffered minor injuries. Police are still investigating Wednesday’s crash, and that probe will determine if criminal charges are filed against Poust.

Poust was thrust into the national media spotlight in 1999 when he ran a stop sign, while calling his girlfriend on his cellphone, and hit another vehicle in Hilltown Township, Pa. The young girl Morgan Lee Pena was killed in the accident.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-school-bus-crash-fatal,0,6176842.story

Morgan’s family became advocates for laws barring the use of cellphones while driving, sparking a debate over the issue. The family was even on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to lobby for their cause.

The family also sued Poust and his employer, Delaware Valley College, and a confidential settlement was reached. The Pena family reportedly received more than $200,000.

Poust’s current employer is Student Transportation of America, based in Wall Township, N.J. The company said it knew he had an accident in 1999, but that criminal and vehicle records had not provided any details on the incident.

Back in 1999 Poust was also sued by a man whose car he hit in the rear, totaling it. That case was settled.

The claim against the bus company is called “negligent entrustment.” Before you hire someone and allow them to drive a vehicle controlled by you, you have a duty to learn the kind of things a google search would have learned about Poust. That you would not do even that minimum when the safety of children is a stake, is outrageous.