School bus driver cited in Mariner Boulevard accident
By Times Staff Writer
Published April 4, 2004
SPRING HILL - A 75-year-old school bus driver was charged with careless driving Friday after causing a traffic accident while taking 52 children home from school.
No one was injured in the fender-bender, which emergency rescue officials called minor.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Santiago J. Vazquez of Spring Hill was driving his bus south on Mariner Boulevard and did not stop the bus in time to avoid hitting a car in front of him. The car was stopped because of traffic congestion on the road.
Because of the citation, Vazquez could be suspended from his job, school district transportation director Linda Fultz said. It depends on how many points he is assessed on the district's safe driver plan, which will be reviewed Monday, she said.
It takes 10 lost points to lose the job, though, and Fultz said Vazquez "is not there yet." Vazquez was involved in another accident previously, but the other driver was charged in that incident, Fultz said.
