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Driver In Fatal Tennessee Bus Crash Arrested For Statutory Rape

Posted at 10:27 AM, Jun 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-15 10:27:12-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A former school bus driver convicted in a wreck that killed six children in Tennessee now faces charges of aggravated statutory rape.

25-year-old Johnthony Walker was arrested Thursday in Nashville, where he was free on bond while appealing his March conviction on charges of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the 2016 bus crash in Chattanooga.

News outlets cited an arrest report that says Walker admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old on five occasions.

Walker was driving 37 children from Woodmere Elementary School on a narrow, winding road when he lost control of the bus. Prosecutors said he was driving too fast and talking on his phone. Defense attorneys said he swerved to avoid another vehicle.

A judge sentenced him to four years in prison.