YOUNGSTOWN Schools probe driver who took kids back

Two district buses were involved in accidents Tuesday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A bus driver for the city school district has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into her failure to complete her route Tuesday.
Gracie Evans drives roughly 40 children to Bennett Elementary and Immaculate Conception schools on the city's East Side, said M. Mike McNair, a school district spokesman.
McNair said Evans began her route Tuesday before deciding roads were too dangerous to drive on and returning children their homes. She had been instructed to continue the route or take the children to school, McNair said.
No unnecessary risks
All drivers were told to take no unnecessary risks and to transport as many children to school as possible. Not all bused children were picked up because drivers determined that some streets were too icy to travel, McNair said.
He said Evans' situation was different because "she assessed the entire route" instead of deciding safety one road at a time. The district did not have a substitute driver on hand Tuesday to complete the route. Some of the students on her route missed school; others were in attendance.
McNair didn't know how long Evans had been a bus driver for the schools or how long she had been on her current route. Evans could not be reached to comment this morning.
A part-time driver has been called in to perform the route while Evans is suspended.
Parents informed
Parents are notified by school secretaries or the district transportation supervisor if a bus cannot drive down their street. For example, parents on a portion of Lauderdale Avenue were telephoned Tuesday when a bus could not make it up a hill. Youngsters met the bus at the bottom of the hill.
District buses were involved in two accidents Tuesday. In one, a bus was rear-ended by a sliding car, McNair said. In the second, a bus slid into a tree. There were no injuries, both buses were operable afterward and drivers finished their routes.