Chattanooga school bus driver refuses to speak with investigators in fatal crash probe

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/29/16. Johnthony Walker, the bus driver charged in the school bus crash on Talley Road that left six children dead and others injured on November 21, makes his first appearance in Judge Lila Statom's courtroom on Tuesday, November 29, 2016.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/29/16. Johnthony Walker, the bus driver charged in the school bus crash on Talley Road that left six children dead and others injured on November 21, makes his first appearance in Judge Lila Statom's courtroom on Tuesday, November 29, 2016.

CHATTANOOGA - The driver in a Chattanooga school bus wreck that killed six children last week has declined to be interviewed by federal crash investigators on advice of his lawyer.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that it has filed subpoenas to obtain 24-year-old driver Johnthony Walker's medical and mental health history. Investigators are also seeking his cellphone records and employment details from his second job with Amazon.

The NTSB's final report is expected to be presented within 18 months.

The six children died on Nov. 21 after the bus carrying 37 students hit a mailbox and utility pole, rolled onto its side and then crashed into a tree.

Walker's attorney, Amanda Dunn, has said she expects him to plead not guilty if a grand jury indicts him for vehicular homicide.

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