Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 4, 1995 TAG: 9504040083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``He loves children. I never believed that it was his fault,'' Worley said Monday.
And neither did police, who said Edwards would not be charged in the accident in which the 5-year-old kindergartner was run over by the rear wheels of the bus.
Vinton Police Chief Rick Foutz said Monday that there is no evidence that Edwards was at fault in the accident in front of the Worleys' house at 467 Vale Ave.
``I don't see what he could have done differently,'' Foutz said at a news conference. ``He did everything to see that the children had cleared the bus'' [and were out of the way].
Skip Burkart, Roanoke County commonwealth's attorney, has reviewed the results of the investigation and agreed that no charges should be placed against Edwards, Foutz said.
Although Edwards has been cleared, it is uncertain when - or if - he will return to his job. He has been on leave since the accident.
``He is still taking it pretty hard. I want him to feel good [emotionally] before he gets behind the wheel,'' said Robert Woolwine, transportation supervisor for Roanoke County schools.
Edwards, whose 22-year-old daughter was killed in a car wreck in 1991, has gone out of town for several days because he is distraught, Woolwine said. ``We will talk when he comes back and see how he feels.''
Witnesses told police that Shayla got off the bus and had started up the steps to her house, which is about 20 feet from the street, Foutz said.
For some unknown reason, the police chief said, she turned and ran back toward the bus. She fell and was run over by the right rear wheels, he said. She might have tripped, he said.
``We don't know why she returned to the bus,'' he said. ``We will probably never know.''
On the day of the accident, Shayla's brother said her book bag had gotten caught in the door, and that's why she went back. Other children who were on the bus said she may have gotten her sleeve caught.
``We examined both the bag and the clothing, but we found no evidence that they had been caught in the bus or door,'' Foutz said.
The small book bag was found in the house. Shayla's brother took it there after the accident, Foutz said.
In recent years, five children have been killed nationwide after their clothing or book bags snagged on bus handrails as they got off and they were run over.
But Vinton police found no evidence that this happened in last week's accident, Foutz said.
It was the first fatal bus accident in the county's history.
Shayla's father said he was relieved that Edwards was not charged.
``He has enough on his mind. He has enough demons now,'' Worley said. ``He cares about children.''
Edwards, the minister of New Testament Baptist Church in Vinton, has been a bus driver for four years.
In church Sunday, the first service since the accident, Edwards was emotional when he spoke about Shayla's death, according to some church members.
Worley said family members are trying to put their lives back together after Shayla's death.
The couple's four school-age children went back to school Monday for the first time since their sister died, but they didn't ride the bus.
``They are not too crazy about riding the bus now, but we hope to ease them back into it this week,'' Worley said. Some people have offered to ride with them to smooth the transition, he said.
by CNB