Bus Driver In Crash That Killed Lassiter Students Appears Before Judge

EAST COBB, GA -- The school bus driver in the fatal crash that took the life of two brothers who attended East Cobb's Lassiter High School appeared in a Fulton County courtroom Tuesday morning to answer to charges in the case, Patch has learned.

During the hearing, the attorney for Charles Talmadge Pitts successfully argued for bond to get granted in the case. The judge granted a $21,000 bond as Pitts' attorney said that they plan to fight the charges. Pitts was processed Monday into the Fulton County Jail after Roswell authorities issued arrest warrants on Friday. Pitts is charged with failure to yield and two counts of vehicular homicide. Both of the charges are misdemeanors.

Fulton authorities are accusing Pitts, who was driving a Roswell High School bus with a handful of special-needs students aboard, of not yielding when he encountered a black BMW traveling eastbound around 3:42 p.m. on April 24. The BMW, occupied by brothers James Pratt, 18, and Joseph Pratt, 14, was traveling in the far left lane of Ga. 92 (Woodstock Road) and approaching the intersection of West Road when the school bus, which had stopped at the light, proceeded to enter into the highway, "causing a collision between the two vehicles," according to a police report on the incident.

During Tuesday's hearing, Pitts' attorney posited that the brothers may be at fault in the crash, saying that the preliminary accident report notes that the BMW was speeding and that the driver was on his phone.

"They impacted the bus that my client was driving and it also appears that the driver, the victim, who is the deceased, was operating a cell phone at the time of the accident. I think those facts will play out in court when he get in front of a jury," attorney E. Jay Abt said to the court.

As authorities work through the terms of his release and restrictions, Pitts is expected to be freed from the jail Tuesday evening, according to WSB-TV.

The brothers were headed to the dentist when the crash occurred. The police report says that the driver of the BMW did not seem to slow down while approaching the bus.

"There is little evidence of braking on the part of vehicle 2," the report says about the BMW, which smashed into the bus so hard that it was lodged under it.

The Pratt brothers were remembered during a memorial service April 30 at Piedmont Church in Marietta. The brothers, who were students at Lassiter High School in Marietta, were very involved with NJROTC. They also volunteered at Brumby Elementary School for special events and related after-school activities. Their sister, Lilly, is a junior at Lassiter and also involved in NJROTC. They also have another sister, Stella.

James Pratt had plans of joining the Marines shortly after graduation.
The brothers will reportedly be acknowledged at Lassiter's commencement ceremony on May 25.

See more of this story at: New details released in fatal crash in Roswell

Photo: from left, James and Joe Pratt. Credit: Cobb County School District