Friday afternoon the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office announced the decisions of the Grand Jury on two separate cases.
Tylor Perry, the driver of the straight-truck that rear-ended a Winamac School bus that had stopped for the railroad tracks on US 31 on December 5th, 2018 will not face any criminal charges. That crash claimed the life of one student, Owen Abbott and injured several others on the bus.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Sarber spoke at a press conference and said the evidence presented to the Grand Jury showed that two school buses were traveling together. The first bus had stopped at the tracks and moved forward while the second bus, involved in the accident was stopped for an extended period of time waiting for the first bus to clear. The bus had its 4-way flasher on and the stop arm was not extended so the red flashing lights were not engaged.
Sarber said the computer from the truck was examined and found the cruise control set at 61-62 MPH in the 60 MPH zone. It showed that Perry applied the break and swerved to the left approximately one second before the crash. The rack on the truck was the first think to impact the back of the bus.
Perry admitted at the scene to removing a piece of clothing which obstructed his view although in testimony he couldn’t say a length of time. The prosecutor also presented an aerial map of the site showing the curve in the roadway and trees and brush which also obstructed the view of the stopped bus. He told police he hadn’t realized the bus was stopped and approached it much quicker than he expected. Perry submitted to a certified test and the results were negative for drugs and alcohol.
The Deputy Prosecuting Attorney said they asked the Grand Jury to consider the state statue regarding “recklessly” which reads, “A person engages in conduct ‘recklessly’ if he engages in the conduct in plain, conscious, and unjustifiable disregard of harm that might result and the disregard involves a substantial deviation from acceptable standards of conduct.”
The Grand Jury, made up of 6 members returned a no bill, which means the evidence presented found that no charges were appropriate.
Sarber said the jury heard testimony on Monday and Tuesday, deliberated for about 3 hours before announcing their decision.
