Current:Home > NewsA school bus is set on fire with kids inside. An ex-Utah bus driver is now being charged. -ProfitEdge
A school bus is set on fire with kids inside. An ex-Utah bus driver is now being charged.
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:30:33
A former school bus driver in Utah was ordered to remain behind bars with no bail on Friday after he was accused of setting a school bus on fire on two occasions including one that that had children on board at the time.
The Department of Justice said a federal magistrate judge ordered that Michael Austin Ford, 58, of West Valley City, Utah be detained until trial. In her detention order, which was reviewed by USA TODAY, Magistrate Judge Cecilia M. Romero said Ford posed a high danger "to the entire community."
A federal grand jury indicted Ford on Feb. 21, 2024, on two counts of arson of a vehicle of an organization receiving federal funds.
Ford only stopped bus when kids complained of smoke from fire: Court docs
According to court documents, Ford set fire to buses on Feb. 24, 2022, and April 7, 2023, while working as a bus driver for the Lake City’s Granite School District.
Prosecutors said in the 2022 incident, Ford was driving a bus that had 42 children inside when he used an ignition device to start a fire. He allegedly kept driving even as flames grew under the dashboard and smoke blew past him towards the back where the kids were seated.
"Undeterred by the smoke, the Defendant only stops the bus when children are seen and heard on video coughing, covering their faces, and complaining about smoke," prosecutors said in court filings.
In April 2023, Ford again set a bus on fire and continued to drive through traffic even as smoke blew past him, prosecutors said. In court filings, prosecutors said Ford attempted to tamper with the bus surveillance system in the days before the fire.
Both incidents were captured on video. He was arrested by Granite School Police and questioned about the incident, days after the 2023 incident but was then released, officials said.
Arson:Former professor pleads guilty to setting blazes behind massive 2021 Dixie Fire
Ford acknowledged involvement in 3 previous fires
Court filings also showed that while the arson incidents were being investigated by local authorities in October 2023, fires broke out in Ford's home and personal car. Ford also "acknowledged to investigators his involvement in three prior bus fires for busses he was driving." Those incidents occurred in 2017, 2016, and around 2001 or 2002.
Ford has a jury trial scheduled for April 29, 2024 in Salt Lake City.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- 1 person airlifted, 10 others injured after school bus overturns in North Carolina
- 'Chucky' Season 3, Part 2: Release date, cast, where to watch and stream new episodes
- Is the U.S. in a vibecession? Here's why Americans are gloomy even as the economy improves.
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Single parent buys spur-of-the-moment lottery ticket while getting salad, wins $1 million
- Wynonna Judd's Daughter Grace Kelley Arrested for Indecent Exposure on Highway
- Inflation runs hot for third straight month, driven by gas prices and rent
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Kiernan Shipka Details How She Plans to Honor Late Costar Chance Perdomo
Ranking
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- An America fighting itself in Civil War: It's a warning
- Town creates public art ordinance after free speech debate over doughnut mural
- Former Virginia assistant principal charged with child neglect in case of student who shot teacher
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Jon Stewart slams America's uneven response to Russia's war in Ukraine, Israel-Hamas war
- FirstEnergy made secret $1 million payment in 2017 to support ‘Husted campaign’ in Ohio
- Court asked to allow gunman to withdraw guilty plea in fatal shooting after high school graduation
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
'I hurt every day': Tiger Woods battles physical limitations at the Masters
Oliver Hudson admits he was unfaithful to wife before marriage: 'I couldn't live with myself'
Eva Marcille Shares What Led to Her Drastic Weight Loss
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Vermont’s Goddard College to close after years of declining enrollment and financial struggles
Why JoJo Siwa Says She Has Trauma From Her Past Relationship
Travel With the Best Luggage in 2024, Plus On-Sale Luggage Options