ATHENS, Texas — Presented with new evidence, a grand jury no billed an Athens Independent School District bus driver criminally charged in a fatal bus crash in 2019 resulting in the dismissal of his pending charges.
ATHENS, Texas — Presented with new evidence, a grand jury no billed an Athens Independent School District bus driver criminally charged in a fatal bus crash in 2019 resulting in the dismissal of his pending charges.
On Friday, January 25, 2019, then 78-year-old John Stevens of Mabank was driving an Athens ISD bus when it was struck by a Union Pacific train — killing 13-year-old Christopher Bonilla, an Athens Middle School student, and critically injuring 9-year-old Joselyn Torres, an Athens Central Elementary School student.
Stevens was also injured in the crash, released from the hospital, and later indicted by a Henderson County grand jury on charges for injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and manslaughter/criminally negligent homicide.
The Henderson County Criminal District Attorney's Office later recused itself from the case, resulting in a special prosecutor from the state attorney general's office to oversee the prosecution.
Defense attorney's representing Stevens uncovered, among other things, evidence from the train's black box which indicated it was speeding as it entered the Athens area.
The Cream Level Road railroad crossing, dubbed the most dangerous railroad crossing in Henderson County, has a number of safety issues which could possibly increase its safety rating with the Federal Railroad Administration — including its diagonal ingress and egress with the railroad tracks, no safety lights or arms, its proximity to a curve in the tracks which could potentially limit visibility, a large hump at the crossing grade, and the fact the route is a designated bus route, a determination not listed on the most recent inspection of the crossing — all measures considered when qualifying crossings for additional safeguards.
And, according to an CBS 19, the crossing is in the top 6% of at-risk crossings in the state of Texas.
The Assistant Attorney General assigned to the case reviewed evidence gathered by Stevens' legal team, Attorneys Brian Schmidt, Justin Weiner, and Mike Head, and re-presented the case to a grand jury in November 2023. The grand jury returned a "no bill" and motions were filed for the cases' dismissal which were ultimately approved.
"We are grateful that the Assistant Attorney General reviewed all of the evidence that we were able to gather over the course of this case and re-presented this case to the Grand Jury with those additional facts in mind," read a statement from the defense team. "The indictment of John for this tragic accident only further compounded a tragedy for our community."
"As of today, the most dangerous railroad crossing in Henderson County remains one of the very last crossings without arm gates or lights to alert drivers of an approaching train. We call on Union Pacific and other responsible authorities to immediately take measures to ensure that a fifth accident does not occur at this crossing."
"We very much appreciate the overwhelming support of the entire community throughout the entire course of this legal proceeding," continued the statement. "Most of all, we sincerely hope that everyone involved can begin to find peace and closure."
