School Bus Driver in Fatal Crash Was Texting

A Tennessee school bus driver was texting at the time of a crash that killed two young girls and an aspiring teacher last year, say accident investigators. James Davenport had sent and received multiple text messages leading up to the time the two buses collided in December, Knoxville police said in a written statement. Officers have met with the victims' families to inform them of the results of the investigation. Police said they were informed that Davenport died this week as they were nearing the conclusion of their investigation. Knox County Sheriff's officials said he apparently died of natural causes, but an autopsy was ordered for Davenport, who had sustained serious injuries in the crash.

The two buses were traveling in opposite directions on Asheville Highway when Davenport made a sudden left turn across the concrete median and crashed into the other bus taking children home from a primary school. Police identified the two children who were killed as Zykia Burns, 6, and Seraya Glasper, 7. Zykia's twin survived the crash. The adult was 46-year-old Kimberly Riddle, a teacher's aide. (In Michigan, a driver who killed a bicyclist has been barred from using a phone for two years.)