Bus driver of fatal bus-train collision in 2000 to enter plea

<p>The bus driver of a fatal bus-train collision that killed three children in 2000 is expected to enter a plea on Monday.</p><p>If Rhonda Cloer enters a plea of not guilty, trial could begin Tuesday. The March 28, 2000 accident at the unguarded railroad crossing on the Georgia-Tennessee line was Georgias worst school bus-train accident in more than 25 years.</p><p>Cloer, no longer a school bus driver, could go to trial in Benton, Tenn., on three felony counts of vehicular homicide, four felony counts of reckless aggravated assault and 12 misdemeanor counts of failing to stop a school bus at a railroad crossing.</p><p>Her daughter was among four children injured in the accident.</p><p>Her lawyers have said Cloer was suffering from traumatic amnesia and didnt remember anything about the accident. But prosecutors said the 39-year-old didnt claim amnesia until more than a year after the crash.</p><p>Her lawyer, Jim Logan, previously said his client thinks the matter needs to come to a conclusion for all of those who have suffered as a result of this tragedy.</p><p>Cloers bus was hit in Polk County, Tenn., just across the state line from Tennga, Ga., after she had driven out of Murray County to turn her bus around in a church parking lot in Polk County, Tenn. A video camera mounted in back of the bus showed Cloer driving across the tracks without stopping.</p><p>Three children, who attended Northwest Elementary School outside of Chatsworth, were killed.</p><p>Georgia law requires that school bus drivers stop 15 to 50 feet from a grade crossing, open the passenger door and left front window and turn off radios, fans or heaters before crossing.</p><p>A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that the probable cause of the accident was Cloers failure to follow proper procedures and stop prior to crossing the tracks.</p><p>The boards report noted that she couldnt hear the trains horn because the bus radio was on and the bus door remained closed.</p><p>A former attorney for Cloer previously said the report contained many material errors and mistakes.</p><p>After the accident, the Tennessee Department of Transportation installed safety devices at that railroad crossing.</p><p>Information from: Constitution</p>

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