Personnel records show school bus driver had driving difficulties

The Carroll County school bus driver involved in a crash that killed a student previously had two minor accidents and trouble keeping his bus in his lane, school personnel records show.

Records for Kenneth Herringdine, 59, of Roopville -- obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- indicate the driver-in-training had a problem driving straight on the same route on which the crash occurred Oct. 4, killing James RaShawn Walker, 17.

Earlier that day, Herringdine reported to a supervisor that he had run over a dog in the morning while operating a bus with students on board.

"I assured him it was alright [sic] ... this has happened to many drivers," Tammy Spraggins, a Carroll County supervisor, wrote in Herringdine's file. "We train drivers not to swerve or hit brakes in order to avoid small animals, which could possibly cause harm to students."

On Sept. 22, Herringdine, while trying to park his bus, bumped the back of another bus. There were no students on board.

Also on Oct. 4, the day of the accident, records show Herringdine completed 2-1/2 hours of driving, from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15. An hour and 25 minutes later, the bus rolled over.

Carroll schools spokeswoman Elena Schulenburg would not address questions involving Herringdine's personnel records.

A note from Herringdine's trainer, Sheri Davis, described how the driver "veers out of his lane, crossing either white or the yellow lines a lot." Davis, who also was aboard the bus when it overturned, wrote that Herringdine "stops abruptly" and "needs to be conscious of speed!"

The trainer noted the problems in late September when Herringdine was driving with Davis in an otherwise empty bus. The failure to stay in the lane occurred "especially or more so when driving to and from vocation tech," Davis wrote.

When the fatal crash occurred, Herringdine was driving students from Temple High School to the College and Career Academy.

Davis wrote that Herringdine's driving had "started to show signs of improvement." And on the morning of the crash, a senior trainer recorded that Herringdine had satisfactory scores on his driver's skills evaluation.

On his job application, Herringdine, who attended West Georgia College but didn't graduate, wrote that he had 30-plus years' experience for driving a truck and more than 20 for driving a bus. He answered no when asked whether he previously had been involved in a traffic accident in which he was at fault. Asked on a school questionnaire to describe his driving record for the past seven years, Herringdine wrote, "Great."