ARTICLE $1$

WESH $2$ Orlando

wesh.com Posted: $6$:$44$ pm EST January $26,2006$

Fatal Accident Driver Has Long Legal History

Investigators are still piecing together why an $18-$wheeler slammed into the back of a car and school bus in Lake Butler yesterday, causing seven children to die. The truck that was involved in the accident was owned and operated by Crete Carrier Corp.

The driver who was behind the wheel has a long bistory of problems with the law. According to driving records obtained by the I$-$Team, Alvin Wilkerson has been cited for eight traffic violations since $1995,$ including two speeding tickets and two seat belt violations. He's also been cited twice for driving with a suspended or revoked license and twice more for operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe condition.

Wilkerson, age $31,$ was driving for Crete Carrier Corp., which is headquartered in Lincoln, Neb. Crete employs $5,400$ drivers operating $5,100$ tractor$-$trailers around the country. According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Crete carries a satisfactory safety rating. Even so$,$ the I$-$Team discovered that in the last two years, Crete drivers have been involved in $482$ crashes and $20$ of those ended in fatalities.

In Florida, transportation officials conducted $259$ inspections of Crete trucks and drivers in the last two years alone and found $111$ violations. Eight of those violations were so serious that inspectors immediately forced the trucks out of service and off the road. WESH $2$ News asked Crete officials why they would hire someone with Wilkerson's driving record, but they did not respond.

A Florida Highway Patrol investigation of the accident continues. An investigator said there was no indication that the truck's brakes failed, but it appears the truck made no effort to stop before it slammed into that car full of children.

Seven children, all related, perished in the crash when the car burst into flames. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition. Eight children on the school bus and the driver were transported to Shands HealthCare hospitals. Three of the children are reported in critical condition. Alvin Wilkerson suffered minor injuries and is reportedly at home.

ARTICLE $2$

NTSB releases details on Lake Butler crash

No charges have been filed against bus driver, although a criminal investigation continues.

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS Published February $3,2006$

LAKE BUTLER, FLORIDA $-$ The truck driver who plowed into a car at a school bus stop last week killing seven children had been awake for $34$ hours, except for a short nap, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

David Rayburn, the lead NTSB investigator for the Lake Butler crash, said the $31-$year$-$old truck driver, Alvin Wilkerson, was refusing to talk to investigators about the accident. Officials say blood tests showed Wilkerson had not been using alcohol or drugs, nor was he using his cell phone at the time of the accident. No charges have been filed against Wilkerson, although a criminal investigation continues.

Rayburn said driver fatigue was one of the main factors being looked into as the cause of the crash. $"$He was driving quite a bit during those $34$ hours, actually way too much," Rayburn said, adding that Wilkerson was making deliveries and loading and unloading his truck. At the time of the crash, Wilkerson was driving a load of bottled water from High Springs to Jacksonville, a trip of about $85$ miles.

The NTSB$,$ using an identical school bus and truck, determined the school bus should have been visible for about $3,000$ feet $($more than half a mile$)$ and there were some light skid marks before hitting the car and pushing it into the school bus.

The car burst into flames, killing all seven children, and forcing it under the school bus, which