Deadly bus crash, cell-phone accident may be linked

From PhillyBurbs.com

The driver of a school bus involved in fatal accident Wednesday morning in western Montgomery County has the same name and date of birth as the driver of an SUV in a 1999 Hilltown crash that killed a 2-year-old Perkasie girl.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office identified the bus driver as Frederick Poust III, 37, of Schwenksville.

Authorities in Montgomery County were not identifying the school bus driver and the driver in the Hilltown accident as the same man. Hilltown police said they had no information connecting the 1999 crash with Wednesday’s accident.

On Nov. 3, 1999, a Ford Explorer driven by Frederick Poust III, then 27, of Quakertown, struck a Jeep Cherokee at the intersection of Route 152 and Rickert Road. Morgan Lee Pena, 2½, who was riding in the Jeep, died a day later in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from head injuries suffered in the accident.

Poust told police that he had been dialing his cell phone at the time of crash.

According court records, Poust pleaded guilty three weeks later to careless driving and a stop sign violation.

State police Wednesday identified the bus driver as Frederick Proust III. However, Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele later said the driver’s last name was Poust.

According to state police, the bus was turning left into the Perkiomen Valley Middle School at 7:25 a.m. when it struck a Honda Civic that was heading east on Route 73.

A passenger in the car, identified as Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville, was killed on impact. The driver of the car, Freddy Carroll, 41, was flown to Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. Five middle school students suffered minor injuries and were treated by the school nurse. Police said there were 45 students on the bus at the time of the accident. The bus driver was not injured.

“At this point the investigation is not completed,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. “Certainly there are some preliminary indications that would suggest the bus driver made a turn in front of the other vehicle and that may have caused the crash.”

The 1999 crash that killed Morgan Lee Pena drew national attention. Her mother, Patricia, who was driving the Jeep, campaigned nationwide for a ban on cell phone use while driving.

In response to the tragedy, Hilltown passed a cell-phone ban that carried a $75 fine. Philip Berg, a Montgomery County attorney, challenged the law in 2000 and won his case in Bucks County Court.

There are handheld bans in Conshohocken, Lebanon and West Conshohocken. Last November, a ban on using cell phones while driving in the city of Philadelphia went into effect.

Six states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington — and the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones.

In January, the state House passed legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. The bill awaits action in the Senate.