School Bus Driver Suspended Over Accusations of Texting, Talking on Phone While Driving

A South County bus driver has been suspended following accusations he was talking on a cell phone while transporting Central Middle School students.

Patch received multiple emails from concerned parents on Friday, alleging that the driver of Central Middle School bus 427 had been texting and talking on his phone while driving students to and from school. 

School bus 427 services children in the Beverly Beach and Saunders Point neighborhoods for Central Middle School. 

Local mom Jennie Hettenhouser-Anderson posted a photo on Facebook taken by her daughter, purporting to show the driver on the phone while driving, garnering comments from dozens of angry parents. One such parent, Jill Taylor, contacted the school board Friday, requesting action. Other parents reached out to the board as well. 

"This is a grave danger to our children, and the drivers/bike riders/pedestrians in our neighborhoods where he is driving," Taylor wrote in an email to the school board.

It is illegal in the state of Maryland to operate a cell phone while driving without a hands-free device, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. 

Bob Mosier, a spokesperson for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, told The Capital Gazette that the bus contractor had been contacted and that the driver had been pulled from the bus route pending investigation. 

“We take swift and prudent action when we become aware of situations that may endanger students,” Mosier told The Capital Gazette.

Parents said they were pleased with the school board's action, but expressed disapproval that the incident occurred at all. 

"I was disappointed, very disappointed in him; it's his job to take care of our kids and follow the law... It took the proof finally to get something done," parent Jessica Hurley told ABC 7.