Baltimore Officials Push For Audit After Fatal Bus Crash

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore officials have urged the state education department to expedite an audit of the city's school bus system following a deadly crash last year.

Federal transportation officials requested an urgent audit of the system in April to screen bus drivers after six people died in the crash in November.

City officials, community members, and Baltimore students held a news conference Monday to call on the state to speed up the audit.

Bus driver Glenn Chappell rear-ended a car before crossing into oncoming traffic and hitting a Maryland Transit Administration bus. No children were on the school bus, but Chappell and five people on the MTA bus were killed.

A spokesman for the Maryland State Department of Education said officials expect to finalize a contract for the audit this week. A preliminary report is expected in October.

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