Ed Wynn Rivera, a 22-year old man who suffers from cerebral palsy, was left stranded on a bus for 17 hours on New Year’s Eve. Wynn is unable to speak or move on his own.
The bus driver, Walter Gibbs, is a employee of Outstanding Transport. He was only on his second day of the job when he left Rivera on the bus.
Outstanding Transport’s website claims that their drivers are routinely background checked and have excellent driving records:
OTI’s drivers are 19A Motor Vehicle Qualified. This means that they are randomly drug tested, fingerprinted, background checked and with no criminal background. They all have excellent driving records and must maintain them. OTI holds weekly safety/ training classes on site and requires every driver to attend these regularly.
That being said, Gibbs has been arrested 28 times. Charges he’s faced have included forgery, grand larceny and drug crimes as well as having had his driver’s license suspended 12 times in the past 12 years.
The owner of Outstanding Transport, Charlie Curcio, is refusing to comment.
Police sources stated that Gibbs will most likely not face charges for leaving Rivera on the bus. They have arrested the bus matron, Linda Hockaday and arraigned her on charges of reckless endangerment. She claimed that she was late for a music event at her church and assumed Gibbs would take Rivera home. Gibbs claimed that checking the bus for any passengers left on it was not part of his responsibility.
With all the blame going around, Rivera is currently being treated for hypothermia. Temperatures dropped to 15 degrees during his time in the bus. He is expected to make a full recovery much to his family’s relief.
Whether or not you feel the bus driver shares any responsibility of this incident, the fact is that he clearly was not background checked properly. Making claims, but not following through can put people in jeopardy, especially for a company who busses the disabled and children.
