HARRISON TWP. — UPDATE @ 4:10 p.m. (Jan. 3):
Deputies released new details about the investigation into a serious injury crash involving an RTA bus and stolen car that sent all five people to area hospitals last week.
>>PREVIOUS REPORT: 5 critically injured after serious crash involving RTA bus in Harrison Twp.
Deputies cited the driver of the bus, however excessive speed by the driver of the car and other factors are still being investigated.
Robert “Bobby” Brown, 67, of Dayton was identified as the bus driver in the crash, according to RTA officials and a crash report submitted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies cited Brown with failure to yield the right-of-way while trying to turn left and caused the crash at Turner and Klepinger roads just before 3 p.m. Dec. 30.
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The bus Brown was driving was at a stop sign on Klepinger Road and attempted to turn left on the divided roadway but crashed into the Kia which was traveling east on Turner Road.
“Preliminary investigation revealed, it looks like the RTA driver may have pulled out in front of the Kia,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Brad Daugherty told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell Monday.
Brown was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with “suspected serious injuries” deputies said in the crash report. Brown was not listed as a patient, nor was he listed as being discharged from the hospital, a hospital spokesperson told News Center 7 Monday. RTA representatives said Brown is a 24-year veteran bus driver and is recovering.
“Mr. Brown is a 24-year veteran bus driver, and we understand he is on the road to recovery. This was a very serious accident. We will support the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office while they continue their investigation into the circumstances surrounding this crash,” RTA CEO Robert Ruzinsky said in an emailed statement Monday afternoon.
While Brown was cited for failure to yield, deputies are also investigating excessive speed as a potential factor in the crash on the part of the Kia driver, identified as Jaylin D. Barnes, 17, of Huber Heights.
“We do have witnesses that said the Kia was traveling at a high rate of speed. We’re still waiting on the downloads from the air bag modules to see how fast they were actually going,” Daugherty said.
Witnesses told deputies after the crash they estimated the car was traveling between 80 and 90 mph. Preliminary crash data included in a crash report indicates the car was estimated to be traveling at least 60 mph in a 50 mph zone.
Barnes was transported to Miami Valley Hospital also with “suspected serious injuries,” deputies said in the crash report. Barnes has since been treated and released from the hospital, a Miami Valley Hospital spokesperson confirmed.
The sheriff’s office crash report also indicated Barnes does not have a valid driver’s license.
Three other passengers in the car were also injured, Demetric Hagler, 18, Chimier Moore, 16, and Aaron Martin, 17, all from Dayton. Hagler was hospitalized at Miami Valley Hospital and remains in critical condition Monday, Martin was taken to Kettering Health Dayton with serious injuries but is no longer listed as a patient, and Moore was taken to Miami Valley Hospital North with suspected minor injuries, the crash report indicates.
Deputies told News Center 7 last week the car Barnes was driving had been reported as stolen to Xenia police prior to the crash.
“At this point we don’t know if any of the people in the car were the ones who actually stole the car of if they were just the ones driving the car at the time,” Daugherty said.
A police incident report obtained through a News Center 7 public records request indicates the car was reported stolen from a car dealership in Xenia Dec. 27, three days before the crash. Workers at the Alan Besco dealership on Dayton Avenue in Xenia reported the Kia was stolen off their lot just before 1:30 p.m.
Witnesses told Xenia police a younger-looking male was walking on the lot, jumped into the Kia, and drove away. Those witnesses suspected the male had been dropped off by a second car that drove away at a high-rate of speed with the stolen Kia, police said in the report.
Xenia investigators were notified about the crash involving the stolen vehicle after it happened.
After the crash, deputies located drugs and a weapon inside the Kia and they are still investigating which of the four teens was in possession of those when the crash happened.
Daugherty said there was a potential for this crash to be much worse, especially had other passengers been on the bus.
“Anytime you’re driving at high speeds, in an area that’s pretty heavily traveled like Klepinger and Turner, the roads were wet, that day anytime, its dangerous. We’re lucky that more people weren’t injured. We’re lucky the bus was empty other than the driver,” Daugherty said.
In additional to the data from the car’s airbags, investigators are also waiting on toxicology reports to come back from both drivers. Daugherty said investigators getting search warrants for toxicology to determine possible impairment is a standard part of serious crash investigations.
Daugherty added there is a potential for criminal charges, including receiving stolen property, for those in the Kia since it was a reported stolen car. Deputies will hand over the findings of their investigation to prosecutors for consideration of additional charges at the conclusion of the investigation, Daugherty said.
We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.