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Sunday, November 1, 2026Nov 1

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School bus driver texted prostitute before fatal crash

photo Lacey Victoria Easterly

Knox County school bus driver James Davenport traded a series of cryptic texts with several people throughout the day of Dec. 2, including a prostitute he was messaging when he caused a crash that killed three people.

The investigation into the crash, the results of which were released this week, shows Davenport, 48, was in the midst of a tumultuous text exchange with a woman named “Lacey” at the moment he swerved across the median and slammed into the side of a second bus on Asheville Highway.

That same cell number for “Lacey” also appears in adult advertisements for a 25-year-old Knoxville escort on backpage.com.

Read more from our partners at KnoxNews.com.