BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- It wasn't the brakes that caused a Kings Local school bus
to rear-end another Tuesday morning, sending about 75 students to
the hospital, police said Wednesday.
It was driver error.
Police charged Joyce Toppen, 42, of Maineville on Wednesday with failing to maintain an assured clear distance. The ticket is a minor traffic misdemeanor and generally carries a $50 to $75 fine, although Ms. Toppen will have to appear in Mason Municipal Court because there were injuries in the accident, Mason Patrolman Paul Martin said.
After Ms. Toppen told police the bus' brakes seemed to fail, a motor carrier enforcement inspector from the Ohio State Highway Patrol tested them and found the brakes were out of adjustment. However, the "adjustments weren't so bad that it should have caused any problem with stopping the bus," Mr. Martin said.
Ms. Toppen was suspended with pay for the rest of the week pending an investigation by the district.
The fifth- and sixth-graders on their way to Columbia Elementary School sustained only bumps and bruises, headaches and stiff necks. .
