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Church Bus May Not Have Been Fit To Drive

By: Renee Charles Email
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New information in a bus crash earlier this week indicates the bus may not have been fit to drive.

The crash happened Monday on I-65 near the Warren Simpson County line. The bus, from Smyrna Motorcoach of Tennessee, slammed into the back of a tractor trailer. The bus was taking a group of kids from Tennessee to church camp in Georgetown.

Authorities with the Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement tells us there were significant problems with this bus and that the driver, John Pritchett of Tennessee, received four citations from the crash.

Lt. Bruce Patterson tells us that Pritchett received one citation for defective brakes. Authorities discovered that there was rust in one of the brake drums indicating that it hadn't been working for quite a while. There were also leaks within the brake chamber.

A second citation was for not having proper proof of annual inspection.

A third citation was for not maintaining his drivers log. We're told he didn't have a proper log filled out since June 22nd.

And a fourth citation was for an improper medical certificate, which all commercial drivers are required to have. Pritchett's certificate had a Nashville Metro stamp. It's being investigated whether or not that means he wasn't supposed to be driving outside of that area.

Lt. Patterson says it appears the tractor trailer stopped quickly in order to avoid motorcycle that stopped in front of it, but the bus driver couldn't get stopped in time.

State Police are still investigating and the collision report is expected in the next few days

There were no serious injuries reported from the crash. The kids were picked up by another bus and taken on to Georgetown.


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