Was Texting A Factor In School Bus Crash?

The driver of a car that told that he was not using his cell phone to send text messages at the time of the accident, as a witness reportedly told the bus driver.

Ptlm. Mark Bairos write in his report, released today, that he responded to the scene of the accident at about 1:40 p.m. and spoke with the driver of bus 108, identified as Dawn Cardarelli of Johnston.

Cardarelli told Bairos that she was stopped at the red light near on Atwood Avenue when the 2006 Toyota Corolla driven by Kenneth Russo of Johnston collided with the back of the bus.

According to Bairos, Russo claimed that the bus "stopped short," so that he did not have enough time to stop before his car struck the bus.

Bairos also wrote that Cardarelli told him "an unknown female witness" had informed the bus driver that Russo had been texting on his phone. When Bairos asked Russo, he denied that he had been using the phone.

Two students who had been riding in the back seat of the bus were taken by Johnston Fire personnel to Hasbro Children's Hospital after complaining of neck and back injuries; 26 other students were brought home by the bus, which was not damaged in the crash.

Bairos reported that he issued a traffic summons to Russo for failure to maintain an adequate gap behind the school bus.