As Canfield bus drivers set out to make their rounds Tuesday afternoon, two of their colleagues were reportedly suspended from their jobs.
Police have filed charges against David Bell and Stephanie Ensley. Bell was operating a bus about a quarter of a mile from Hilltop Elementary School Jan. 11 when he passed up a student's house.
At that point, Bell reportedly backed into Ensley's bus, where a dent is still visible. The crash caused the back door of Bell's bus to fall off. But instead of calling police right away from the scene, Canfield Police Chief Charles Colucci said Bell told his supervisor the crash happened in Hilltop's parking lot.
Police were finally made aware of the crash nearly seven hours later after a parent called looking for an accident report. Colucci said had Bell reported the mishap truthfully, the charges wouldn't have been that severe.
Although Colucci said Bell showed no signs of being under the influence when he spoke with police, the school district is conducting its own review of what happened.
Canfield School Superintendent Dante Zambrini said he can't comment on the situation until after the district's own investigation is finished. That is expected before the end of the month.
In the meantime, the chief said both drivers made what he calls "extremely poor decisions" which could end up being costly for them before it's all over.
