A bus driver has been sentenced to jail time for a fatal Montgomery County bus accident in which a 27-year-old man was killed. This was the second accident in his driving career in which he has caused fatal injuries.
Ten years ago, 39-year-old Frederick R. Poust III, blew through a stop sign and caused a fatal Bucks County car accident in which a 2 ½-year-old girl was killed. Authorities indicated that he was talking on his cell phone at the time.
It seems like Poust would have learned his lesson of the dangers of inattentive driving, but in February 2010 he did it again. The difference this time is that Poust was driving a school bus full of 45 students.
Poust failed to stop before turning the loaded school bus left into the Perkiomen Valley Middle School West in Lower Frederick. His sudden turn into traffic caused an accident with an oncoming 1999 Honda Civic.
The driver of the vehicle, 42-year-old Perkiomenville resident Freddie Carroll, suffered severe injuries in the accident and now requires the use of a cane. However, his passenger, Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville, was not so lucky. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the accident.
Tapes from the bus’ video surveillance system show that Poust was not only tired and inattentive, but he was also talking on a cell phone at the time of the accident. He also failed to come to a complete stop at ten different stop signs prior to the accident.
On Friday, August 19, 2011, Poust pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and was sentenced to one to two years in the Montgomery County prison. He was also ordered to serve five years probation and 200 hours of community service.
The Bucks County accident injury lawyers at Cordisco & Saile urge each and every driver to give driving the careful attention it deserves. If you have been injured by a tired or distracted driver, contact our office for help.
