Police: Driver in fatal school bus crash lacked proper certification

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By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The trainee who was driving during Monday's fatal school bus crash in Carroll County does not have the proper certification on his commercial driver's license to operate a school bus, the Georgia State Patrol said.

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Channel 2 Action News The accident happened just before 2 p.m. on Highway 113 near Hog Liver Road.

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Kenneth Herringdine's license shows a "P" for passenger endorsement but not an "S" for school bus endorsement, officials said. The "S" also is not on the computerized version, officials said.

However, Carroll County school officials told Channel 2 Action News that Herringdine passed the test for a school bus endorsement, though they did not provide documentation.

"We were comfortable with where he was in his training and his experience with a CDL or we would not have had him in that situation," Superintendent Scott Cowart told Channel 2.

Herringdine and his trainer, Sherry Davis, who was on board, have been placed on paid administrative leave.

The bus ran off Highway 113 and flipped, killing 17-year-old Temple High student James Rashawn Walker and injuring about a dozen others.

The State Patrol continues to investigate what caused the bus to leave the roadway.

The Carroll County school system is conducting its own investigation, "looking at things that connect to safety, looking at buses, looking at all things dealing with personnel," Cowart told Channel 2.

"Any time you have a safety issue, you always review what happened and how it happened and all the processes that lead to any situation. Our No. 1 job is the safety and security of children," Cowart said.