Charges dismissed for fatal bus crash

ATHENS — A former Athens school bus driver charged in connection to a fatal crash with a train in 2019 had his charges dismissed. According to our news partner KETK, in a Henderson County court on Nov. 21, 83-year-old John Franklin Stevens had his injury to a child and criminally negligent homicide cases dismissed. He was charged in connection to a January 2019 crash with a Union Pacific train that killed 13-year-old Christopher Bonilla and injured 9-year-old Joselyne Torres. He was driving the bus at the time when it was hit by the train and reportedly was pushed one-quarter of a mile before coming to a stop.

Stevens’ case has been in the courts since he pleaded not guilty in 2019. Factors like Union Pacific employees requesting immunity, the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in prosecution all contributed in the case’s delay. Many community members voiced support for Stevens and opposition to his prosecution during the process.

In 2021, the Henderson County District Attorney’s office recused themselves, citing a conflict of interest. The Texas Attorney General’s Office took up the case shortly after, announcing in June 2021 that they would be sending the case back to a grand jury because they weren’t happy with the language of the indictments.