Overview

• Investigator Natashia Tidwell issued numerous recommendations but warned that even full adoption would not guarantee preventing another fatal crash.
• The report says deficiencies identified in a 2020 audit persist, including outdated driver qualification files, hard-to-access training records, incomplete accident reporting, and inconsistent staffing of safety roles.
• Boston Public Schools shifted to an oversight model focused on outputs and did not fully use its contractual rights to audit and inspect operations, with regular record reviews beginning only after the Hyde Park death.
• Driver Jean Charles had an expired state school-bus credential and a history of minor incidents, resigned before a termination hearing, and tested negative for drugs and alcohol immediately after the crash.
• The Boston police and Suffolk district attorney’s investigations remain open, and the findings come a week before buses return for more than 20,000 students as the family pursues a civil lawsuit against Transdev.