Boston launches review of school bus safety following collision death of 5-year-old

Boston city leaders said they are launching an independent review into the safety policies and performance of Transdev, the school bus contractor for Boston Public Schools. The move comes nearly a month after a bus operated by a Transdev driver struck and killed kindergarten student Lens Joseph during drop-off after school.

"The public deserves a full understanding of how this could have happened and what changes are needed," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement Friday.

District Superintendent Mary Skipper added that she fully supports the investigation, pledging to ensure "any findings and recommendations from this investigation are acted on and implemented to strengthen the safety of our transportation system."

The outside investigation will be led by Natashia Tidwell, of the Mintz law firm, and will include recommendations to bolster bus safety measures. The review is separate from investigations into the collision already underway by the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Joseph was struck and killed the afternoon of April 28 after a half-day of school at UP Academy Dorchester. The bus driver, Jean Charles, had been employed at Transdev for two years. As of December 2024, he had been driving with an expired credential that is required to work as a bus driver, the city said.

Charles was assigned an additional route as a substitute driver to cover the academy's early release. He missed a turn onto the street where the 5-year-old student lived and made an alternative turn onto Washington St. in Hyde Park where the collision took place, the city said.

He had been involved in four minor traffic incidents before the day of the fatal crash, the release said. Transdev reportedly took him off the road for two days for additional training. The day of the crash, Charles struck another vehicle while executing the bus route but didn't notify Transdev and continued driving, the release added.

District officials said they have started meeting with Trandev leaders on a daily basis to examine the company's response to every safety incident and bus crash. The district has also asked Transdev to provide additional reports on licensing of drivers, training renewals and "post-crash driver protocols."

Attorneys representing the Joseph family said while they "wholeheartedly support" the outside review and investigation effort, they remain disturbed by what happened.

"We are fully committed to obtaining justice for the Joseph family and to enacting change to protect the children of Boston from any other senseless and avoidable tragedies," attorney Matthew Fogelman said in a statement to WBUR.

Boston city councilor Ed Flynn — who has pressed the district for more answers — said he hopes the investigation will review the certification records and safety records of every bus driver for the school system.

"We must act with urgency to address the BPS systemic failures that contributed to this tragedy and take meaningful steps to ensure it never happens again," Flynn said in a written statement.

In an email to WBUR Friday, a Transdev spokesperson said the company is working with the city of Boston to support the review process and that they will "fully cooperate with all aspects of the investigation."

The district has contracted with Transdev for more than a decade. The transportation vendor oversees the hiring and training of the 750 school bus drivers in Boston and maintains the fleet of buses used to transport roughly 22,000 students to school.