Current:Home > ContactA school bus is set on fire with kids inside. An ex-Utah bus driver is now being charged. -AssetTrainer
A school bus is set on fire with kids inside. An ex-Utah bus driver is now being charged.
View
Date:2025-04-11 12:13:44
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! (4)
Related
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- For 2024, some simple lifestyle changes can improve your little piece of the planet
- Following her release, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is buying baby clothes 'just in case'
- Israel taps top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to battle genocide claim at world court
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- John Mulaney and Olivia Munn Make Their Red Carpet Debut After 3 Years Together
- South Korean lawmakers back ban on producing and selling dog meat
- Musk's X signs content deals with Don Lemon, Tulsi Gabbard and Jim Rome
- Average rate on 30
- Kim calls South Korea a principal enemy as his rhetoric sharpens in a US election year
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- County official Richardson says she’ll challenge US Rep. McBath in Democratic primary in Georgia
- 'This is goodbye': YouTuber Brian Barczyk enters hospice for pancreatic cancer
- Armed attack during live broadcast at Ecuadorian TV station. What’s behind the spiraling violence?
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Last undefeated men's college basketball team falls as Iowa State sinks No. 2 Houston
- West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, known for quirky speeches, will give final one before US Senate run
- 61-year-old man has been found -- three weeks after his St. Louis nursing home suddenly closed
Recommendation
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Former UK opposition leader Corbyn to join South Africa’s delegation accusing Israel of genocide
Blizzard knocks out power and closes highways and ski resorts in Oregon and Washington
Key moments in the arguments over Donald Trump’s immunity claims in his election interference case
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
With California’s deficit looming, schools brace for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spending plan
Product recall: Over 80,000 Homedics personal massagers recalled over burn and fire risk
U.S. cut climate pollution in 2023, but not fast enough to limit global warming