No Background Check for Busted School Bus Driver

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January 30, 2007 1:21 PM

After a school bus driver was arrested for possession of cocaine, the Columbus, Ohio school system abruptly cancelled classes for 56,000 students last Thursday.

School officials had learned that no criminal background checks had been done on the arrested driver and dozens of other drivers hired from the "First Student" company.

"It all began when police saw a school bus make an erratic, illegal left turn," said Mark Straughter, a spokesman for the Columbus school system.

"Officers stopped and searched the bus and arrested the driver after finding a syringe, which police said tested positive for cocaine," Slaughter said. "That's what led us to discover no criminal background checks had been done for two years on all the drivers hired from that company. It's been crazy, just crazy ever since."

The arrested driver was found to have a past history of DUI arrests, according to the spokesman. And when the Ohio State Attorney's Office ordered expedited criminal background checks on 60 more First Student drivers employed in the state, five other drivers did not pass, according to the State Attorney's Office.

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The President of the First Student bus driving company, which operates in 38 states and claims to be the second largest operator of yellow school buses in the country, admitted responsibility for failing to submit the criminal background checks as required and apologized to his Ohio customers.

But background checks for the company's drivers have previously been called into question.

In 2004, the trade publication "School Transportation News" reported a First Student driver, Mohamed Elzahabi, was indicted in Minneapolis on terrorism-related charges. Elzahabi was fired by First Student for failing to show up for work and has pled not guilty to the charges in the ongoing case.

The Chief Counsel for the Ohio State Attorney's Office, Tomi Dorris, declined to reveal what other problems had turned up in the criminal background checks of the First Student drivers.  But Dorris said their office, in conjunction with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, was pursuing an investigation, which could lead to possible criminal charges against the bus driving company.

The following is the response issued by Carey Paster, President of First Student:

"As the President of First Student, I regret and am deeply sorry for the breakdown in internal processes which led to our voluntary decision to temporarily suspend the school bus service that we provide to the Columbus School District.

"Because we strive to conduct our business in an open, honest and ethical manner, after we became aware of driver compliance issues at our Columbus office, we made a decision that we continue to believe was the right and responsible thing for us to do for our customers and the public.

"We've reached out to all of our customers in Ohio to reassure them that we're actively addressing the matter to ensure that all First Student bus drivers have the appropriate documentation in their employee files, as well as on file with the school districts we serve in Ohio."