November 24, 2025 • 39 mins
There is an update in the investigation into the tragic Boston Public Schools school bus accident that killed 5-year-old Lens Joseph in Hyde Park back in April of this year. The Boston Globe reports that there is a video recording that was shown to them that shows the bus driver did not appear to be watching the boy and his cousin after they exited the bus and where they were going. The video also showed the driver appearing to look down at the dashboard, not straight ahead when the bus hit and ran over Lens Joseph. The family has sued the driver and bus company, alleging their negligence and recklessness resulted in Lens’s death.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WVZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome back everyone, Thank you very much, Dan Watkins. There
is an article that those of you who read the
Boston Globe and I do, and I hope all of
you do as well, that you will read tomorrow in
the print edition of the Boston Globe, written by John
Hilliard from the Globe staff.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It's a fairly lengthy.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Article by most standards, and it is an article that
deals with the first story that I think has really
dealt with this bus accident that took the life of
a five year old young man, little boy, five year
(00:49):
old boy in Boston on April twenty eighth. Now, this
is a story that I have talked about before, and
if you're tired of hearing about it, well you may
want to, you know, flip the channel here if you want.
I hope that's not your reaction. I hope what your
reaction is that you will join me in my outrage.
(01:13):
This is a story that some of you will remember,
some of you won't.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So this is a story April last April.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It was Monday, April twenty eighth.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
One of the.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Reasons I think why this has hit me as hard
as it does, is that we welcomed granddaughter the day before.
On April twenty seventh, This little boy five years old.
His name is Lens Arthur Joseph Lenz Joseph. He was
a Boston Public school student at five, and he was
(01:51):
being transported by bus in the company of his eleven
year old cousin. On the bus that was a bus
driver who apparently his his certificate to be a bus
driver had expired the bus company. And his name is
(02:15):
Jean Jean Charles j E A N Jean Charles. He
was a substitute that day and according to this Goal article,
had never driven this route before. Now what is new
about this story is the headline video shows that Boston
(02:36):
Public school bus driver's eyes were off the road when
Hyde Park kindergartner was struck and killed in April crash.
This and let's call it an accident because there's no suggestion,
certainly no suggestion from me that this driver did anything
(02:59):
into aly. I think this is a case of negligence.
So the little boy gets off the bus across the
street from his family home. He should have been driven
so that when he got off the bus he stepped
(03:21):
on a sidewalk and within two or three steps he's
on the home. He's on the property of his family.
But the bus driver who earlier in that afternoon had
crashed into a couple of parked vehicles in Mattapan, according
to most news reports. I've seen some news reports that
said he crashed into one. Some said he crashed into two. Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
The bus.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Was heading down Truman Parkway. Okay, I think they mean
by that Truman Highway. Maybe it's now called Truman Parkway,
but it's I know exactly where that is. The Boston
Public School equips its buses with cameras that record.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Each day, each day's runs.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Now, again, this company is a big, big French company.
It's not a local company. It's called trans Dev. Okay,
it's a French company, trans Dev, and they have lots
of responsibilities. Amongst them is to make sure that the
drivers are confident. Now, there's no suggestion that this guy
(04:30):
was the driver was under the influence of anything, but
apparently he did have an accident in Mattapan and did
not stop, did not which was the proper procedure, did
not report the accident to the police.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
It was basically a hit and run a hit and
run accident, so.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
The bus driver knew to the route. Were supposed to
take a turn on the streets are not going to matter,
but he's supposed to take a left turn instead, he
missed the turn, and he continued down Truman Parkway. He
then takes a left onto another street which parallels the
(05:17):
street where this young boy lived. So as he's driving
down the parallel street, he misses another left turn. This
time he goes onto another street, which would have allowed
him to take a right onto the street for the boy,
but and would have allowed him to approach Joseph, lends
(05:40):
his home, lends Joseph's.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Home as he should have.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He slowed down but did not appear to stop at
the stop sign at Tyler and Washington Streets. He turns
left on a Washington. Then he takes a series of
life altering steps since according to the article from John Hilliard,
the video shows that he brings the bus to a
halt on Washington Street, across from Lenz Joseph's home. The
timecode on the video is two forty one PM and
(06:09):
forty two seconds, so it's down to the second. The
portion of the onboard video viewed by The globe consists
of two sources. One is a camera mounted on the
vehicle's exterior showing two large mirrors meant to give the
driver a view of what is directly in front of
the vehicle. The second camera, mounted inside the passenger compartment,
(06:32):
provides a clear view of the driver's activities and the passengers. Now,
this electric bus involved in the crash was really new.
It entered service in February of twenty twenty three, so
probably not a big mechanical likelihood of a mechanical failure.
They're generally equipment the tablet of the center of the
(06:53):
dashboard like they could be on your car, that allows
the driver to operate the district's map tracking app for
the bus fleet. The tablets are capable of displaying a
Google Maps like interface giving the driver specific directions to
the destination. In the video, it is not clear what
Charles was looking at on the dashboard from the camera
(07:14):
inside the bus. At two forty one PM and forty
four seconds, Charles, wearing a black tshirt and ball cap,
opens the side door behind him and to his left.
The bus's stop sign extends out from the exterior of.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
The vehicle.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Lens and his eleven year old cousin can be seen
walking to the front of the bus, with Lens leading
the way. As the children walk down the steps, Charles
has his eyes down, apparently looking at something on the
vehicle's dashboard. Lens and his cousin step off the bus.
At two forty one pm and fifty five seconds the
(07:57):
driver is looking at the dashboard, then to his left
through the driver's side window. He looks back down at
the dashboard and at two forty one and fifty eight
seconds this is now not minutes, these are seconds. He
briefly glances to his right in the direction of where
(08:18):
the children are, and then up at the rear view
mirror again. I'm reading from the piece through in the globe.
The side door begins to close, and by time it
shuts completely, he appears to be looking at the dashboard.
It is two forty two pm. The bus begins to
roll forward. The view of the bus's exterior camera is
(08:41):
blocked by the vehicle's hood, but in the driver's sign
mirror showing the bumper, the silhouette of a figure can
be seen moving in front of the passenger side of
the bus. One second after two forty two pm, that
figure it would be Lens Joseph, in my opinion, appears
(09:06):
to be pulled under the vehicle as it drives forward.
From the camera inside the bus, Charles still appears to
have his eyes on the dashboard and looks out through
the windshield between two forty two pm one second and
two seconds. At two forty two pm and three seconds,
Charles is briefly bumped up in the driver's seat as
(09:26):
his vehicle, as if his vehicle had ran.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Over an obstacle.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
In the next few moments, he's looking around as if
something has caught his attention. Four seconds later, to forty
two and seven seconds, he's looking to his left out
the driver's side window.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Again.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Children on the bus are moving around and looking at
something off camera. At two forty two pm and nine seconds,
Charles reacts to something off camera. His left hand covers
his mouth. The bus came to a complete stop two
seconds later. Now authorities have said that he underwent drug
and alcohol testing. No sign of either found immediately after
(10:04):
the Hyde Park crash. No one. No one has been
charged in connection with the crash. Earlier this year, the
city and school officials identified the driver as Jean Charles,
who had been hired by TRANSDV in twenty twenty three.
Charles resigned from transjev in May, just before a scheduled termination,
(10:26):
hearing TRANSDV is an eleven billion French A billion dollar
French company with US headquarters in Illinois has served as
BPS's bus contractor since twenty thirteen. BPS contracts with the
company to hire and manage school bus drivers and maintained
the district's bus fleet and three bus yards. The district
(10:46):
has said transjev Dev has faced more than a dozen
court complaints alleging personal injuries since it began operating in Boston,
and the family. The Joseph family have sued the driver
and Transdev in July, alleging negligence and recklessness resulted in
Lenz's death. Here's my question, why, more than now eight months,
(11:12):
coming more than six months, coming up on seven months,
why has there not been some form of indictment issued
in this case? At a minimum, motor vehicle homicide at
a minimum. We know who is driving the bus, We
know the timing of this video, which the Globe reporter
(11:38):
has seen. I haven't seen it, but in the Globe
story tomorrow morning, he talks about it.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
At great length.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I'm going to open up the lines, and I know
that this is a subject that many of you are
going to be uncomfortable talking about. Please don't be This
little boy lost his life, five year old boy. He
did nothing wrong. He did nothing wrong. He got off
his school bus. His school bus should have been parked
on the other side of the street.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
It wasn't.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Even with that, the driver should have taken much more
care and much more for caution, knowing that this kid
or is not being dropped off where he should be
dropped off. What is this guy thinking? What is our
district Attorney, Kevin Hayden thinking? Why is his office holding
up on this? Is this guy still in town? Has
(12:26):
he agreed to stay in town? How are we making
sure that he doesn't just leave at some point? Look,
child is dead. Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
Are you upset about it? If you're not upset about it,
don't call in if you are upset about it. And
if this had happened in your town, and it didn't
(12:47):
happen in Hyde Park in the city of Boston, do
you think that we would have had some at least
criminal charges filed at this point?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
What is going on.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Kevin Hayden, you're the District Attorney of Suffolk County. What
is your office doing on this? Why has it taken
over six months? Almost seven months now and we still
have nothing, no report, not. The only information we have
is what I've read about in the Globe six seven
(13:25):
thirty six one seven nine thirty.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Coming right back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray, Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I do want to go to phone calls, and I've
told the story. I certainly can amplify on it. But
what really bothers me about this is that this little
boy never had a chance. He never had a chance,
never had a chance.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Getting off that bus. And to me, it's inconceivable.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
That that bus driver would not know where that child
should have.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Been dropped off.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And even if he really okay, the bus driver should
have should have put the bus in park, should have
told everyone to stay seated, and he should have gotten
out of that bus and made sure that that child
could walk across the street safely. It wasn't some car
that hit this child, it was the bus itself. Let
(14:21):
me go to John and Denham. John, I appreciate you
calling in. You go right ahead, sir, your thoughts on this.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Every time I hear this story, then I get more
upset with each time I hear more details. And the
funny thing is, how do we not have as you said,
how do we not have all the details by now?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's the point that is so infuriating. You know the
district attorney. I didn't know much about this district attorney.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
He was appointed to the office by Charlie Baker. He
succeeded Rachel Rawlins. He grew up, I guess, was born
in Newton, went to Noble and Greenow School in Dedham,
since you're from Dedham, and went on to Dartmouth College,
and then he worked in finance before getting his law
(15:06):
degree at my law school, Boston University Law School. So
he's a well educated man. He's very inaccessible to the
media for the most part. He'll show up at shootings
and say a couple of words. But I'd like to
have him come on the show and explain to us
why some form of allegation at a minimum vehicular homicide.
(15:33):
I mean, we know who drove the bus. There was
only one person driving the bus. He never got out
of his seat from the time the kid got off
the bus. The little boy got off the bus and
he was hit and killed. I don't understand the hang
up either, and that's why I'm doing it. And the
story in the Globe tomorrow. When you read the story
by John Hilliard, it cleared it was posted this morning
(15:55):
at six fifteen am. So I know it wasn't in
today's paper edition, but it will be in tomorrow's Globe.
It is a really interesting, Uh, it's a horrific story.
But that's what makes it makes it so interesting. This
reporter has put it together a timeline that the District
Attorney's office should have had no more than two or
(16:16):
three days after this accident. And why nothing has issued
from the day's offices beyond me.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
When it takes this long, and I don't care you
know who you're affiliated with or what get position where
it takes this long, somebody's trying to hide something. Yeah,
And and I don't look at this into an accident.
This was you said, negliges At the least the thing
is I mean, like that timeline thing was great to
(16:45):
here you go through each second, like why wasn't this
driver's eye I would think the standard operator behagually you
look out the keith of walking up the door and
make sure they all go right not left. It's like
the front of the butt right now.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Again if this guy, this guy hadn't followed the directions.
So he takes the kid and the bus stops across
the street from his house. That was not the route.
The route was for him to come up a different way.
This is up kind of like in what you call
the Fairmount section of Hyde Park, I believe, not far
from moynihan Field where the old stopping shop is on
(17:23):
Truman Highway.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think it's in that neck of the woods.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
So he he is, he's had an accident that he
never stopped at. He he's sideswiped at least one maybe
two cars in had a band like twenty minutes before.
So he's having you know, he's obviously had a problem
an accident. Oh sure, leave you the seat of an
accident minimum okay with damage, you know. And again I
(17:50):
don't know the extent of the damage.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
A friend of mine called me the other day and said, gee,
I just you know brush the car. I said, well,
pull over and leave a note on the car so
the person can get in touch with you you know,
I mean, that's that's what you're supposed to do. But no,
this guy just continue along and he run. He he
drove over this kid within a couple of seconds of
(18:17):
the moment that the child had gotten off the bus.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
That's the part that's almost like he can't even comprehend that.
And to me, it's like because it's saying, if you
can't identify the problem, it's gonna happen again.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
This is a was it a thirteen billion dollars, this
is a huge bus company. There will be a civil
law There is a civil lawsuit. As a matter of fact,
I spoke and invited the lawyer for the for the
Joseph family to join me tonight. But he's in in
you know, in the discovery process with this company, Transtev
(18:54):
and he declined, which is no problem. He's been on
with me before. But this is Look, driving a bus
is not an easy job. I wouldn't do it. I
don't think I would have the patience to do it.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
But I'm in the freight trucking business, and you know,
I think about this stuff going on with he's California
truck drivers, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, we don't speak English cod reed signs. But they're
giving him not only in California, but in the state
of Washington as well, giving these CDL licenses, these people
and many At this point, I don't know how many
Americans have been killed because in one case, this guy
took an illegal U turn. But let's come back to
(19:39):
this little boy's case. Can you imagine if this happened
in Weston, if it happened in Wellesley, that happened in Westwood,
that happened in Denham, the time will be up in arms.
Where's the outrage? Where's the outrage? If I'm the district
attorney and nobody the only guy who's talking about it
is this talk show host in WBZ, I'm gonna say,
I don't have to do anything.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
You know, is your touch on it? More more, it's say,
we have one tragedy kid, But where is the accountability
of the politicians to the city, the people who.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
You work for.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Where is where is again for this to take this long?
Somebody's hide something that I brought up to California State
for a reason. I wonder if this guy probably is
gonna never been behind the wheel, regardless of.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
What well he was, he was driving. He was driving
illegally that day because apparently his certificate had inspired and
he hadn't renewed his certificate U to be able to drive.
It'd be like if you don't renew your passport and
you show up at Logan Airports, say hey, I'm heading
out of the country. Oh no, you're not. You know
your passport?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Is that a day.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I'll end with this. I hope you continue to press
whoever our local people are responsible for coming forward and again,
this is just way too long and people should lose
their jobs on this seat is taking this long?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Well, John, The reason why I'm doing it is because
someone like you has the courage and the interest. You know,
the people who are sitting home listening and who are
not going to call in on this, I say shame
on them, because in order for us to shake up
these politicians and let them know that the days, the
days for transparency, the necessity of transparency have long since passed.
(21:19):
And you do not sit around on a case like
this and wait for six months to bring a charge.
You bring a charge. If you have to upgrade the
charge later on, fine, but you get you get this
guy's passport. Poll you make sure he can't leave the
country even if they gave you, Oh, I'm gonna get
my if his lawyers said we'll make sure he's here,
(21:40):
don't leave that to chance and the district attorney who
is not accessible. I have lots of friends who are
DA's in this in this state. But the ones who
are my friends are the ones who are accessible and
will answer questions and who become available to me into
my callers, and again for my callers, sit home and
don't bother to call. If you're happy with the result
(22:02):
of this investigation so far, kiss, I'm not happy at all.
Thanks John, appreciated. Thank you so much. Talk to you soon. Well,
there's one caller that has some guts, and I hope
some of you will join me, because everybody says, oh,
I get complaints during the day, people call me out.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Can you do this? Can you do that? Can you
do that?
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I'm not here as you're as you're elected official, you're representative.
I'm here to try to make you aware of what's
going on and what's not going on. And if this
doesn't really bother you, I think there's something wrong with
your soul. And I mean that seriously, because if this
was your five year old grandchild, or if this was
your five year old child, you would be leaping for
(22:43):
the phones. This is a little boy who was cut
down by his Boston Public school bus last April, and
we still don't know from the district attorney anything about
the investigation from the District Attorney's office. It's way too long,
mister Hayden. It's time for you and your associates to
(23:06):
get up and do something. And and and let's let's
get a charge issued. Make sure this guy's passport is
pulled and that he sticks in the area.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
This is way too long.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Coming back on night Side right after this, here's the
line six one seven. I got two there and I
got one at six one seven nine. Folks, everybody says, well,
you can't.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Fight city hall. Let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I will do nothing but fight city hall, fight the
Governor's office, fight the DA's office, because if they're not
doing their job, and at this point this job has
not been done by Kevin Hayden's office, I will be
on them until we do get action, and I hope
you'll help me out. Coming back on night.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Side, it's Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Back to the phones to go, let me go to
Chris in Beverly. Chris, is I to fight as a
bus driver? Chris, welcome to nightside.
Speaker 6 (24:04):
Thank you. You know what, the Department of Transportation should
have been doing something with that company, and the company
should have never let him behind that wheel without no license.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I guess I think what it says in the story.
And you know more about this than I do. I
suspect says that his certificate. I guess his certificate had
expired and he hadn't renewed.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
It.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Is that what you would have been behind you?
Speaker 6 (24:28):
He should have not been behind that wheel.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
No, I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
But is it a certificate or is it a license?
Speaker 6 (24:34):
I'm not sure it's a it's a school bus license,
but it's paper.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (24:40):
You do have it on your regular license too, Like
I haven't run my regular license. I'm a school bus
drive a passenger endorsement, okay.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
And then with the sho dashboard.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
He's been looking at his marriage and making sure that
kid was walking across with his cousin and making sure
he made it across the street without him running at
over and then not stopping after he felt he hit something.
Come on, Oh my god, that ate me up in size.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, this company, this French company, trans Dev, is an
eleven billion dollar French company with US headquarters in Illinois
and has served as BPS's bus contractor since twenty thirteen.
Do you got I'm just guessing here, but I assume
(25:26):
you work for another company.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
I mean I do.
Speaker 6 (25:28):
And you have to have eight hours of safety meetings.
If my license was expired, I wouldn't be behind a wheel.
You bet your around. They would put me behind a
wheel until I renewed my license.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, well, it says here.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It says at the time of the let me read
this to you and maybe you can explain it to me.
And I appreciate your calling, and says at the time
of the deadly crash Charles.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
He's the driver.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Jean Charles had been driving for BPS with a state
required certification that had expired in December. Trans Dev, which
is the company, the French based company, learned him last year.
It was about to expire, but he did not renew
what officials have said, But why did trans Dev not
(26:09):
know that he had not renewed his license. They're trying
to push the culpability onto him, but they have some
culpability too.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Let me ask you a question. That little boy was
hit in Dorchester.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Correct, it was actually Hyde Park High Park.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Now what company was he driving for in Hyde Park?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
He was driving for for The company was called trans
Dev dev t R A N S like the first
five letters of transportation and then DV so trans Dev.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Yeah, I'm surprised that the Department of Transportation out of
Boston has even investigated that. That's crazy, that's insane.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Well, you know, I have no idea if the District
Attorney's office has taken this guy's passport away. You know,
they run these investigations and the public is in the dark.
But again, if the people don't call and and have
the same passion that you have and John had earlier,
the politicians say.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Well, they don't care about it, you know, they.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Know it's like you know about it.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
That's that's making me look bad on top of it all,
because I'm a bus driver.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Exactly exactly, and I'm sure that you take a great
deal of care.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
What would you do.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Here's what this guy did. And I'm going to ask
you this hypothetically, and I said something, and if I'm wrong,
feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Chris, because yeah, I will this than I do.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
I suspect you will so. So I don't know if
they have bus monitors along with the driver on one
of these buses, but obviously I think they should have.
Speaker 6 (27:40):
So do you realize that monitors It depends on it's
this you know, special needs. But we I'm the company
I'm working with right now, we have a when the
kids are acting up, we have a monitor co ride
with us to make sure these kids aren't acting up
on the bus.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
So what I'm saying is when when he stops, he
was supposed to have dropped this little boy and his
eleven year old cousin across the street. So when they
got off the bus on the you know, the passenger
side steps on the sidewalk, and two steps later, he's
on on his home. His house is his home, his home,
(28:17):
the property of his home. He's across the street. So
the bus driver has to know that this five and
eleven year old have to cross a street.
Speaker 6 (28:29):
To say okay, it's okay to cross. He used to
have been paying attention to these children getting off the bus.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But let me ask you this, let me let me
ask you this.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Here's my question.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Would have been appropriate to turn the bus off, take
the keys, so no one's going to start the bus
and get off before the knowing that he had gone
to drop the child off at the wrong location, and
he should have someone should have been there to help
the kid come across the street.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
He did not.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
He not only didn't get off the bus to help
the kid across the street, he drove the bus and
drove over the kid and killed the kid.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Yeah, that's that's that's insane. But we are not allowed
to get off our buses unless we have a monitor aboard. Okay,
and the moms across the street waiting for the child
if ins a kending god, because we can't let the
kid and gotten off without the parents.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I think it was a grandmother who was waiting gross street.
Maybe what he should have said was he should have,
you know, said to her, you have to come and
get your get your grandchild. I don't want that child
crossing the street alone and it might have caused him
to have to wait an extra couple of minutes.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
That's bad, that's too bad. If the parent's not dere
we don't let the kids off the bus. We just
keep going on our route and we make we make
a phone call on the two way, tell him, call
the mom, tell them we'll come back after we drop
off the rest of our kids, because we're not going
to sit there and wait for our mother. And cat's
shopping because Christmas is coming. A lot of people shopping.
Oh I'm running. Wait. Well, you know what. You should
have planned this before.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
You got it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Chris, thank you so much for the call, A lot
of good information. I appreciate.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Have you called the show bere for us.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
This is your first time, this is my first time.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
We've got to give you a run and applause. Chris,
thank you very much. I really do appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
I hope they press charges on them, I really do.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I hope.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
I hope something something's being done with the company too,
because that's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I just hope justice is done. Let me put it
like that, if you know what I'm saying. Thank you, Chris,
talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Good night.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Take quick break one line at six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty one line and uh at at six one, seven, nine, three,
one ten thirty. I'm more than happy to talk about
this into the next hour as well. I have a
topic schedule, but not a guest scheduled. We'll be back
with more phone calls right after this. I'm outraged. I'm outraged.
It's taken more than six months to give us any information.
(30:40):
And if it wasn't for a great piece that'll be
tomorrow Morning's Boston Globe written by John Hilliard, I wouldn't
have known about this. I knew about the story, but
I know a lot more about it right now because
of the story that will be in the Globe tomorrow morning.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on w ME,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I'm gonna move call us a little bit more quickly.
Bob is in Halifax, Massachusetts. Noticed so far not one
call from from Boston, which is shameful.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Bob, right ahead, technically after Boston. I worked for the
Boston Schools for fifty years. I'm telling you this is
a horrible tragedy. But to elevate it to a you know,
a criminal complaint and everything, it's never going to happen.
It's sad, it's tragic, and art you can do is
learn from it. Let me ask you what will never
(31:31):
have it happen again?
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Bob?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Let don't we ask you a quick question if I could,
since you have some experience, if if you or I
were driving our car and we struck.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Someone and oh, I agree, one hundred percent agreed.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
My question is what would be was the guy was trying.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
To get out of the area. That's what happened. He
sides like a couple of cars, and he knew we
did some damage. He wanted to get the hell out
of there, and he started making some quick moves and
that's what costs lens Wall to his wife. But there's
a portrait of lens Walls that you have to have.
If you haven't seen it yourself, find it.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
It's it's it's.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
Spectacular and that ought to be hanging everywhere in my opinion,
along with Martin Ridgard and anyone else. I mean, we
had and mind fifty years we had kids that's got
off of us try to climb a snowbank, you know
how fat up snow is, got back down and and
went under the wheel. So they didn't get killed. But
(32:33):
may I mean, this is something that's happened in my
town of Halifax. We had a little boy in a
in a h his father was pushing him across a
stop a shop, a walk, uh painted on the We
didn't have a stop light at the police station. Across
(32:54):
the across the street is a post office. This guy
came out of the one of the toniest subdivisions, that's
the Halifax Country Club. Mister, you know, mister mom pushes
one kid in a baby carriage across an impatient elderly
woman stops besides that there's something wrong. She's going to
(33:16):
pass all those cars and she grinves by the stream
of cars and hits this little boy who's on one
of those little toy prices. He kills it, and we
still don't have a stoplight there. It bugs that hell out.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
I'll bet you she was charged with the HKYO homicide
at the minimum.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
I'll bet she was. I have no idea he was elderly.
I've seen stuff on the highway right by that please
stake it. Pod workers coming off the box dog tied
literally in your lane, coming up by that post office,
up by hill, freaking you out, you know. And all
of a sudden, somebody grabs a wheel and pulls it
(33:56):
back toward the curb and there's no collision.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
But all right, Well, look, Bob, I appreciate I appreciate
you call. I appreciate your support, particularly with your background.
I'm going to stay on this case, I promise you.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I'm like a dog.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
I agree, I agree. Don't let it die. I'm not
going everybody to take a look at les portrait. Yeah,
it's amazing, and it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
And Bob, you're a good man to have called in
and I appreciate it. And it's only with supportive people
like you can we fight this. Thank you, Bob, appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Yeah, that a great night too.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Let me go to.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Larry down to the Cape.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Larry and the Cape next on nightside, go right ahead.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
And this is infuriating. You know, my son's the Boston detective.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Yes, I do know that he used.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
To be in a division called vehicular Homicide. Sure, this
is this is all they do is investigate this stuff, right,
Has anybody contacted that unit?
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Well, that unit, as I'm sure you know, through your son,
h does their investigations and then that unit would, through
the normal chain of command, pass on to the District
Attorney's office something, you know, their findings.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And I am.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Sure that the DA is sitting on this. I don't
know why. Maybe there's a legitimate reason why he wants
to hold off on bringing charges. I don't know that
the reports have been very consistent. This guy apparently was
not They do not believe he was on drugs or on.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Alcohol.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
So it's a question of negligence. It's a question of
the Hiculo homicide. There's a five year old dead boy.
He watched that kid walk off the bus. He closed
the door, and within a matter of seconds, according to
the Globe article, he began to drive, knowing that he
had dropped the kid off on the wrong side of
the street, and he ran this kid over.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
I mean, what's it's it's discouraging. I'm going to Thanksgiving
to my son's house. I'll just ask her if he
knows anything.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yeah, I would really appreciate that. There you have my number,
give me a call because if I find out that
that you know, and if I tell your son that,
if that, if you tell me you if you want
to tell me by deep background, off the record, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
But if you if.
Speaker 7 (36:20):
You tell me, I don't everything is off the record.
Believe I don't want to get my son.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
No, I understand that.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Say be careful what you find out and then be
careful what you tell me, because I will tell you that.
I you know, I I can tell you that I
would keep it between you and me, but I don't
want to get myself dragged into a one know.
Speaker 7 (36:39):
Do I want you to understand have Thanksgiving and yelling
about no.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
No, she's cutting she's cutting Christmas trees in Nova Scotia,
you know with family portraits lyn'ce Joseph was it didn't
get to go on the trip to Nova Scotia to
cut the Christmas tree, did he? I know, I appreciate
it so much. Thank you, my friend, Thank you. Uh,
let me get one more here, and you're gonna do Rob.
(37:05):
I'm gonna hold Steve from Bridgewater over if I have to. Steve,
I only get about a minute, but I'll be happy
to hold you over on the other side of the
tent if you like, because we'll stick with this on
the other side of the tent.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Go right ahead, all right?
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Yeah, yeah, I was just couldn't ask. I mean, I'm
outridged by the tomb. The kid got off the bus,
Like you said, why didn't you wait to see the
kid cross the street before.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
D Yeah, I mean that's why it was.
Speaker 4 (37:33):
Waiting looking both ways to see if a car was coming,
and he'd moved before the cave got a chance to carus.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, oh, this is this is outrageous. This is this
is not let's assume that hypothetically. I remember one time
a long time ago, late at night, driving home and
I was in Hyde Park, uh, and a dog ran
out in front of my car. I couldn't stop and
I hit the dog.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It was like twelve thirty and there are a bunch
of people out there, and I said, well, you know,
I may, I may get a beating here, but I
know I wasn't. I'm not drunk, I'm I'm driving. I
went back, talked to them. They appreciated the fact that
I stopped. I felt horrible. I felt horrible, but I
was in one of those streets where his cars on
both sides aparked. Uh, and the dog just got off
(38:24):
the leash uh and and ran out in front of
my car. But there's no way after hitting a dog
that I'm going to drive off. And if I was
going to get a beating that night by a bunch
of drunks, I'll take the beating as opposed to driving off.
To be honest with you, and that's what I did.
I was about I was twenty years old at the time,
A long time.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Yeah, all right, all right, there was something else that
was going to ask me, what do you think would
carry me over till after.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Yes, I'm going to carry over. So you stay there.
You'll beat the first up on the other side. Okay,
thanks Stave. Rob will take care of that. The only
line opened is six one seven Boston. This happened in Boston.
I want to hear from you as well, and I
want to hear from everyone on this one.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
This is an outrage.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Let's work to We can't bring this little boys back
to life, but let's let's do this in his memory,
and let's make sure we get justice for Len Lens
Joseph coming back on nightside
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WVZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome back everyone, Thank you very much, Dan Watkins. There
is an article that those of you who read the
Boston Globe and I do, and I hope all of
you do as well, that you will read tomorrow in
the print edition of the Boston Globe, written by John
Hilliard from the Globe staff.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It's a fairly lengthy.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Article by most standards, and it is an article that
deals with the first story that I think has really
dealt with this bus accident that took the life of
a five year old young man, little boy, five year
(00:49):
old boy in Boston on April twenty eighth. Now, this
is a story that I have talked about before, and
if you're tired of hearing about it, well you may
want to, you know, flip the channel here if you want.
I hope that's not your reaction. I hope what your
reaction is that you will join me in my outrage.
(01:13):
This is a story that some of you will remember,
some of you won't.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So this is a story April last April.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It was Monday, April twenty eighth.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
One of the.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Reasons I think why this has hit me as hard
as it does, is that we welcomed granddaughter the day before.
On April twenty seventh, This little boy five years old.
His name is Lens Arthur Joseph Lenz Joseph. He was
a Boston Public school student at five, and he was
(01:51):
being transported by bus in the company of his eleven
year old cousin. On the bus that was a bus
driver who apparently his his certificate to be a bus
driver had expired the bus company. And his name is
(02:15):
Jean Jean Charles j E A N Jean Charles. He
was a substitute that day and according to this Goal article,
had never driven this route before. Now what is new
about this story is the headline video shows that Boston
(02:36):
Public school bus driver's eyes were off the road when
Hyde Park kindergartner was struck and killed in April crash.
This and let's call it an accident because there's no suggestion,
certainly no suggestion from me that this driver did anything
(02:59):
into aly. I think this is a case of negligence.
So the little boy gets off the bus across the
street from his family home. He should have been driven
so that when he got off the bus he stepped
(03:21):
on a sidewalk and within two or three steps he's
on the home. He's on the property of his family.
But the bus driver who earlier in that afternoon had
crashed into a couple of parked vehicles in Mattapan, according
to most news reports. I've seen some news reports that
said he crashed into one. Some said he crashed into two. Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
The bus.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Was heading down Truman Parkway. Okay, I think they mean
by that Truman Highway. Maybe it's now called Truman Parkway,
but it's I know exactly where that is. The Boston
Public School equips its buses with cameras that record.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Each day, each day's runs.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Now, again, this company is a big, big French company.
It's not a local company. It's called trans Dev. Okay,
it's a French company, trans Dev, and they have lots
of responsibilities. Amongst them is to make sure that the
drivers are confident. Now, there's no suggestion that this guy
(04:30):
was the driver was under the influence of anything, but
apparently he did have an accident in Mattapan and did
not stop, did not which was the proper procedure, did
not report the accident to the police.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
It was basically a hit and run a hit and
run accident, so.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
The bus driver knew to the route. Were supposed to
take a turn on the streets are not going to matter,
but he's supposed to take a left turn instead, he
missed the turn, and he continued down Truman Parkway. He
then takes a left onto another street which parallels the
(05:17):
street where this young boy lived. So as he's driving
down the parallel street, he misses another left turn. This
time he goes onto another street, which would have allowed
him to take a right onto the street for the boy,
but and would have allowed him to approach Joseph, lends
(05:40):
his home, lends Joseph's.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Home as he should have.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He slowed down but did not appear to stop at
the stop sign at Tyler and Washington Streets. He turns
left on a Washington. Then he takes a series of
life altering steps since according to the article from John Hilliard,
the video shows that he brings the bus to a
halt on Washington Street, across from Lenz Joseph's home. The
timecode on the video is two forty one PM and
(06:09):
forty two seconds, so it's down to the second. The
portion of the onboard video viewed by The globe consists
of two sources. One is a camera mounted on the
vehicle's exterior showing two large mirrors meant to give the
driver a view of what is directly in front of
the vehicle. The second camera, mounted inside the passenger compartment,
(06:32):
provides a clear view of the driver's activities and the passengers. Now,
this electric bus involved in the crash was really new.
It entered service in February of twenty twenty three, so
probably not a big mechanical likelihood of a mechanical failure.
They're generally equipment the tablet of the center of the
(06:53):
dashboard like they could be on your car, that allows
the driver to operate the district's map tracking app for
the bus fleet. The tablets are capable of displaying a
Google Maps like interface giving the driver specific directions to
the destination. In the video, it is not clear what
Charles was looking at on the dashboard from the camera
(07:14):
inside the bus. At two forty one PM and forty
four seconds, Charles, wearing a black tshirt and ball cap,
opens the side door behind him and to his left.
The bus's stop sign extends out from the exterior of.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
The vehicle.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Lens and his eleven year old cousin can be seen
walking to the front of the bus, with Lens leading
the way. As the children walk down the steps, Charles
has his eyes down, apparently looking at something on the
vehicle's dashboard. Lens and his cousin step off the bus.
At two forty one pm and fifty five seconds the
(07:57):
driver is looking at the dashboard, then to his left
through the driver's side window. He looks back down at
the dashboard and at two forty one and fifty eight
seconds this is now not minutes, these are seconds. He
briefly glances to his right in the direction of where
(08:18):
the children are, and then up at the rear view
mirror again. I'm reading from the piece through in the globe.
The side door begins to close, and by time it
shuts completely, he appears to be looking at the dashboard.
It is two forty two pm. The bus begins to
roll forward. The view of the bus's exterior camera is
(08:41):
blocked by the vehicle's hood, but in the driver's sign
mirror showing the bumper, the silhouette of a figure can
be seen moving in front of the passenger side of
the bus. One second after two forty two pm, that
figure it would be Lens Joseph, in my opinion, appears
(09:06):
to be pulled under the vehicle as it drives forward.
From the camera inside the bus, Charles still appears to
have his eyes on the dashboard and looks out through
the windshield between two forty two pm one second and
two seconds. At two forty two pm and three seconds,
Charles is briefly bumped up in the driver's seat as
(09:26):
his vehicle, as if his vehicle had ran.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Over an obstacle.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
In the next few moments, he's looking around as if
something has caught his attention. Four seconds later, to forty
two and seven seconds, he's looking to his left out
the driver's side window.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Again.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Children on the bus are moving around and looking at
something off camera. At two forty two pm and nine seconds,
Charles reacts to something off camera. His left hand covers
his mouth. The bus came to a complete stop two
seconds later. Now authorities have said that he underwent drug
and alcohol testing. No sign of either found immediately after
(10:04):
the Hyde Park crash. No one. No one has been
charged in connection with the crash. Earlier this year, the
city and school officials identified the driver as Jean Charles,
who had been hired by TRANSDV in twenty twenty three.
Charles resigned from transjev in May, just before a scheduled termination,
(10:26):
hearing TRANSDV is an eleven billion French A billion dollar
French company with US headquarters in Illinois has served as
BPS's bus contractor since twenty thirteen. BPS contracts with the
company to hire and manage school bus drivers and maintained
the district's bus fleet and three bus yards. The district
(10:46):
has said transjev Dev has faced more than a dozen
court complaints alleging personal injuries since it began operating in Boston,
and the family. The Joseph family have sued the driver
and Transdev in July, alleging negligence and recklessness resulted in
Lenz's death. Here's my question, why, more than now eight months,
(11:12):
coming more than six months, coming up on seven months,
why has there not been some form of indictment issued
in this case? At a minimum, motor vehicle homicide at
a minimum. We know who is driving the bus, We
know the timing of this video, which the Globe reporter
(11:38):
has seen. I haven't seen it, but in the Globe
story tomorrow morning, he talks about it.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
At great length.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I'm going to open up the lines, and I know
that this is a subject that many of you are
going to be uncomfortable talking about. Please don't be This
little boy lost his life, five year old boy. He
did nothing wrong. He did nothing wrong. He got off
his school bus. His school bus should have been parked
on the other side of the street.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
It wasn't.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Even with that, the driver should have taken much more
care and much more for caution, knowing that this kid
or is not being dropped off where he should be
dropped off. What is this guy thinking? What is our
district Attorney, Kevin Hayden thinking? Why is his office holding
up on this? Is this guy still in town? Has
(12:26):
he agreed to stay in town? How are we making
sure that he doesn't just leave at some point? Look,
child is dead. Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
Are you upset about it? If you're not upset about it,
don't call in if you are upset about it. And
if this had happened in your town, and it didn't
(12:47):
happen in Hyde Park in the city of Boston, do
you think that we would have had some at least
criminal charges filed at this point?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
What is going on.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Kevin Hayden, you're the District Attorney of Suffolk County. What
is your office doing on this? Why has it taken
over six months? Almost seven months now and we still
have nothing, no report, not. The only information we have
is what I've read about in the Globe six seven
(13:25):
thirty six one seven nine thirty.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Coming right back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray, Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I do want to go to phone calls, and I've
told the story. I certainly can amplify on it. But
what really bothers me about this is that this little
boy never had a chance. He never had a chance,
never had a chance.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Getting off that bus. And to me, it's inconceivable.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
That that bus driver would not know where that child
should have.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Been dropped off.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
And even if he really okay, the bus driver should
have should have put the bus in park, should have
told everyone to stay seated, and he should have gotten
out of that bus and made sure that that child
could walk across the street safely. It wasn't some car
that hit this child, it was the bus itself. Let
(14:21):
me go to John and Denham. John, I appreciate you
calling in. You go right ahead, sir, your thoughts on this.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Every time I hear this story, then I get more
upset with each time I hear more details. And the
funny thing is, how do we not have as you said,
how do we not have all the details by now?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's the point that is so infuriating. You know the
district attorney. I didn't know much about this district attorney.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
He was appointed to the office by Charlie Baker. He
succeeded Rachel Rawlins. He grew up, I guess, was born
in Newton, went to Noble and Greenow School in Dedham,
since you're from Dedham, and went on to Dartmouth College,
and then he worked in finance before getting his law
(15:06):
degree at my law school, Boston University Law School. So
he's a well educated man. He's very inaccessible to the
media for the most part. He'll show up at shootings
and say a couple of words. But I'd like to
have him come on the show and explain to us
why some form of allegation at a minimum vehicular homicide.
(15:33):
I mean, we know who drove the bus. There was
only one person driving the bus. He never got out
of his seat from the time the kid got off
the bus. The little boy got off the bus and
he was hit and killed. I don't understand the hang
up either, and that's why I'm doing it. And the
story in the Globe tomorrow. When you read the story
by John Hilliard, it cleared it was posted this morning
(15:55):
at six fifteen am. So I know it wasn't in
today's paper edition, but it will be in tomorrow's Globe.
It is a really interesting, Uh, it's a horrific story.
But that's what makes it makes it so interesting. This
reporter has put it together a timeline that the District
Attorney's office should have had no more than two or
(16:16):
three days after this accident. And why nothing has issued
from the day's offices beyond me.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
When it takes this long, and I don't care you
know who you're affiliated with or what get position where
it takes this long, somebody's trying to hide something. Yeah,
And and I don't look at this into an accident.
This was you said, negliges At the least the thing
is I mean, like that timeline thing was great to
(16:45):
here you go through each second, like why wasn't this
driver's eye I would think the standard operator behagually you
look out the keith of walking up the door and
make sure they all go right not left. It's like
the front of the butt right now.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Again if this guy, this guy hadn't followed the directions.
So he takes the kid and the bus stops across
the street from his house. That was not the route.
The route was for him to come up a different way.
This is up kind of like in what you call
the Fairmount section of Hyde Park, I believe, not far
from moynihan Field where the old stopping shop is on
(17:23):
Truman Highway.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think it's in that neck of the woods.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
So he he is, he's had an accident that he
never stopped at. He he's sideswiped at least one maybe
two cars in had a band like twenty minutes before.
So he's having you know, he's obviously had a problem
an accident. Oh sure, leave you the seat of an
accident minimum okay with damage, you know. And again I
(17:50):
don't know the extent of the damage.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
A friend of mine called me the other day and said, gee,
I just you know brush the car. I said, well,
pull over and leave a note on the car so
the person can get in touch with you you know,
I mean, that's that's what you're supposed to do. But no,
this guy just continue along and he run. He he
drove over this kid within a couple of seconds of
(18:17):
the moment that the child had gotten off the bus.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
That's the part that's almost like he can't even comprehend that.
And to me, it's like because it's saying, if you
can't identify the problem, it's gonna happen again.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
This is a was it a thirteen billion dollars, this
is a huge bus company. There will be a civil
law There is a civil lawsuit. As a matter of fact,
I spoke and invited the lawyer for the for the
Joseph family to join me tonight. But he's in in
you know, in the discovery process with this company, Transtev
(18:54):
and he declined, which is no problem. He's been on
with me before. But this is Look, driving a bus
is not an easy job. I wouldn't do it. I
don't think I would have the patience to do it.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
But I'm in the freight trucking business, and you know,
I think about this stuff going on with he's California
truck drivers, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, we don't speak English cod reed signs. But they're
giving him not only in California, but in the state
of Washington as well, giving these CDL licenses, these people
and many At this point, I don't know how many
Americans have been killed because in one case, this guy
took an illegal U turn. But let's come back to
(19:39):
this little boy's case. Can you imagine if this happened
in Weston, if it happened in Wellesley, that happened in Westwood,
that happened in Denham, the time will be up in arms.
Where's the outrage? Where's the outrage? If I'm the district
attorney and nobody the only guy who's talking about it
is this talk show host in WBZ, I'm gonna say,
I don't have to do anything.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
You know, is your touch on it? More more, it's say,
we have one tragedy kid, But where is the accountability
of the politicians to the city, the people who.
Speaker 6 (20:10):
You work for.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Where is where is again for this to take this long?
Somebody's hide something that I brought up to California State
for a reason. I wonder if this guy probably is
gonna never been behind the wheel, regardless of.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
What well he was, he was driving. He was driving
illegally that day because apparently his certificate had inspired and
he hadn't renewed his certificate U to be able to drive.
It'd be like if you don't renew your passport and
you show up at Logan Airports, say hey, I'm heading
out of the country. Oh no, you're not. You know
your passport?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Is that a day.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I'll end with this. I hope you continue to press
whoever our local people are responsible for coming forward and again,
this is just way too long and people should lose
their jobs on this seat is taking this long?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Well, John, The reason why I'm doing it is because
someone like you has the courage and the interest. You know,
the people who are sitting home listening and who are
not going to call in on this, I say shame
on them, because in order for us to shake up
these politicians and let them know that the days, the
days for transparency, the necessity of transparency have long since passed.
(21:19):
And you do not sit around on a case like
this and wait for six months to bring a charge.
You bring a charge. If you have to upgrade the
charge later on, fine, but you get you get this
guy's passport. Poll you make sure he can't leave the
country even if they gave you, Oh, I'm gonna get
my if his lawyers said we'll make sure he's here,
(21:40):
don't leave that to chance and the district attorney who
is not accessible. I have lots of friends who are
DA's in this in this state. But the ones who
are my friends are the ones who are accessible and
will answer questions and who become available to me into
my callers, and again for my callers, sit home and
don't bother to call. If you're happy with the result
(22:02):
of this investigation so far, kiss, I'm not happy at all.
Thanks John, appreciated. Thank you so much. Talk to you soon. Well,
there's one caller that has some guts, and I hope
some of you will join me, because everybody says, oh,
I get complaints during the day, people call me out.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Can you do this? Can you do that? Can you
do that?
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I'm not here as you're as you're elected official, you're representative.
I'm here to try to make you aware of what's
going on and what's not going on. And if this
doesn't really bother you, I think there's something wrong with
your soul. And I mean that seriously, because if this
was your five year old grandchild, or if this was
your five year old child, you would be leaping for
(22:43):
the phones. This is a little boy who was cut
down by his Boston Public school bus last April, and
we still don't know from the district attorney anything about
the investigation from the District Attorney's office. It's way too long,
mister Hayden. It's time for you and your associates to
(23:06):
get up and do something. And and and let's let's
get a charge issued. Make sure this guy's passport is
pulled and that he sticks in the area.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
This is way too long.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Coming back on night Side right after this, here's the
line six one seven. I got two there and I
got one at six one seven nine. Folks, everybody says, well,
you can't.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Fight city hall. Let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I will do nothing but fight city hall, fight the
Governor's office, fight the DA's office, because if they're not
doing their job, and at this point this job has
not been done by Kevin Hayden's office, I will be
on them until we do get action, and I hope
you'll help me out. Coming back on night.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Side, it's Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Back to the phones to go, let me go to
Chris in Beverly. Chris, is I to fight as a
bus driver? Chris, welcome to nightside.
Speaker 6 (24:04):
Thank you. You know what, the Department of Transportation should
have been doing something with that company, and the company
should have never let him behind that wheel without no license.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And I guess I think what it says in the story.
And you know more about this than I do. I
suspect says that his certificate. I guess his certificate had
expired and he hadn't renewed.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
It.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Is that what you would have been behind you?
Speaker 6 (24:28):
He should have not been behind that wheel.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
No, I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
But is it a certificate or is it a license?
Speaker 6 (24:34):
I'm not sure it's a it's a school bus license,
but it's paper.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (24:40):
You do have it on your regular license too, Like
I haven't run my regular license. I'm a school bus
drive a passenger endorsement, okay.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
And then with the sho dashboard.
Speaker 6 (24:49):
He's been looking at his marriage and making sure that
kid was walking across with his cousin and making sure
he made it across the street without him running at
over and then not stopping after he felt he hit something.
Come on, Oh my god, that ate me up in size.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, this company, this French company, trans Dev, is an
eleven billion dollar French company with US headquarters in Illinois
and has served as BPS's bus contractor since twenty thirteen.
Do you got I'm just guessing here, but I assume
(25:26):
you work for another company.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
I mean I do.
Speaker 6 (25:28):
And you have to have eight hours of safety meetings.
If my license was expired, I wouldn't be behind a wheel.
You bet your around. They would put me behind a
wheel until I renewed my license.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, well, it says here.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It says at the time of the let me read
this to you and maybe you can explain it to me.
And I appreciate your calling, and says at the time
of the deadly crash Charles.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
He's the driver.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Jean Charles had been driving for BPS with a state
required certification that had expired in December. Trans Dev, which
is the company, the French based company, learned him last year.
It was about to expire, but he did not renew
what officials have said, But why did trans Dev not
(26:09):
know that he had not renewed his license. They're trying
to push the culpability onto him, but they have some
culpability too.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
Let me ask you a question. That little boy was
hit in Dorchester.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Correct, it was actually Hyde Park High Park.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Now what company was he driving for in Hyde Park?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
He was driving for for The company was called trans
Dev dev t R A N S like the first
five letters of transportation and then DV so trans Dev.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Yeah, I'm surprised that the Department of Transportation out of
Boston has even investigated that. That's crazy, that's insane.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Well, you know, I have no idea if the District
Attorney's office has taken this guy's passport away. You know,
they run these investigations and the public is in the dark.
But again, if the people don't call and and have
the same passion that you have and John had earlier,
the politicians say.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Well, they don't care about it, you know, they.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Know it's like you know about it.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
That's that's making me look bad on top of it all,
because I'm a bus driver.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Exactly exactly, and I'm sure that you take a great
deal of care.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
What would you do.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Here's what this guy did. And I'm going to ask
you this hypothetically, and I said something, and if I'm wrong,
feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Chris, because yeah, I will this than I do.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
I suspect you will so. So I don't know if
they have bus monitors along with the driver on one
of these buses, but obviously I think they should have.
Speaker 6 (27:40):
So do you realize that monitors It depends on it's
this you know, special needs. But we I'm the company
I'm working with right now, we have a when the
kids are acting up, we have a monitor co ride
with us to make sure these kids aren't acting up
on the bus.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
So what I'm saying is when when he stops, he
was supposed to have dropped this little boy and his
eleven year old cousin across the street. So when they
got off the bus on the you know, the passenger
side steps on the sidewalk, and two steps later, he's
on on his home. His house is his home, his home,
(28:17):
the property of his home. He's across the street. So
the bus driver has to know that this five and
eleven year old have to cross a street.
Speaker 6 (28:29):
To say okay, it's okay to cross. He used to
have been paying attention to these children getting off the bus.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But let me ask you this, let me let me
ask you this.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Here's my question.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Would have been appropriate to turn the bus off, take
the keys, so no one's going to start the bus
and get off before the knowing that he had gone
to drop the child off at the wrong location, and
he should have someone should have been there to help
the kid come across the street.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
He did not.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
He not only didn't get off the bus to help
the kid across the street, he drove the bus and
drove over the kid and killed the kid.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Yeah, that's that's that's insane. But we are not allowed
to get off our buses unless we have a monitor aboard. Okay,
and the moms across the street waiting for the child
if ins a kending god, because we can't let the
kid and gotten off without the parents.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I think it was a grandmother who was waiting gross street.
Maybe what he should have said was he should have,
you know, said to her, you have to come and
get your get your grandchild. I don't want that child
crossing the street alone and it might have caused him
to have to wait an extra couple of minutes.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
That's bad, that's too bad. If the parent's not dere
we don't let the kids off the bus. We just
keep going on our route and we make we make
a phone call on the two way, tell him, call
the mom, tell them we'll come back after we drop
off the rest of our kids, because we're not going
to sit there and wait for our mother. And cat's
shopping because Christmas is coming. A lot of people shopping.
Oh I'm running. Wait. Well, you know what. You should
have planned this before.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
You got it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Chris, thank you so much for the call, A lot
of good information. I appreciate.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Have you called the show bere for us.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
This is your first time, this is my first time.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
We've got to give you a run and applause. Chris,
thank you very much. I really do appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
I hope they press charges on them, I really do.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
I hope.
Speaker 6 (30:10):
I hope something something's being done with the company too,
because that's ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I just hope justice is done. Let me put it
like that, if you know what I'm saying. Thank you, Chris,
talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Good night.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Take quick break one line at six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty one line and uh at at six one, seven, nine, three,
one ten thirty. I'm more than happy to talk about
this into the next hour as well. I have a
topic schedule, but not a guest scheduled. We'll be back
with more phone calls right after this. I'm outraged. I'm outraged.
It's taken more than six months to give us any information.
(30:40):
And if it wasn't for a great piece that'll be
tomorrow Morning's Boston Globe written by John Hilliard, I wouldn't
have known about this. I knew about the story, but
I know a lot more about it right now because
of the story that will be in the Globe tomorrow morning.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on w ME,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I'm gonna move call us a little bit more quickly.
Bob is in Halifax, Massachusetts. Noticed so far not one
call from from Boston, which is shameful.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Bob, right ahead, technically after Boston. I worked for the
Boston Schools for fifty years. I'm telling you this is
a horrible tragedy. But to elevate it to a you know,
a criminal complaint and everything, it's never going to happen.
It's sad, it's tragic, and art you can do is
learn from it. Let me ask you what will never
(31:31):
have it happen again?
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Bob?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Let don't we ask you a quick question if I could,
since you have some experience, if if you or I
were driving our car and we struck.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Someone and oh, I agree, one hundred percent agreed.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
My question is what would be was the guy was trying.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
To get out of the area. That's what happened. He
sides like a couple of cars, and he knew we
did some damage. He wanted to get the hell out
of there, and he started making some quick moves and
that's what costs lens Wall to his wife. But there's
a portrait of lens Walls that you have to have.
If you haven't seen it yourself, find it.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
It's it's it's.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
Spectacular and that ought to be hanging everywhere in my opinion,
along with Martin Ridgard and anyone else. I mean, we
had and mind fifty years we had kids that's got
off of us try to climb a snowbank, you know
how fat up snow is, got back down and and
went under the wheel. So they didn't get killed. But
(32:33):
may I mean, this is something that's happened in my
town of Halifax. We had a little boy in a
in a h his father was pushing him across a
stop a shop, a walk, uh painted on the We
didn't have a stop light at the police station. Across
(32:54):
the across the street is a post office. This guy
came out of the one of the toniest subdivisions, that's
the Halifax Country Club. Mister, you know, mister mom pushes
one kid in a baby carriage across an impatient elderly
woman stops besides that there's something wrong. She's going to
(33:16):
pass all those cars and she grinves by the stream
of cars and hits this little boy who's on one
of those little toy prices. He kills it, and we
still don't have a stoplight there. It bugs that hell out.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
I'll bet you she was charged with the HKYO homicide
at the minimum.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
I'll bet she was. I have no idea he was elderly.
I've seen stuff on the highway right by that please
stake it. Pod workers coming off the box dog tied
literally in your lane, coming up by that post office,
up by hill, freaking you out, you know. And all
of a sudden, somebody grabs a wheel and pulls it
(33:56):
back toward the curb and there's no collision.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
But all right, Well, look, Bob, I appreciate I appreciate
you call. I appreciate your support, particularly with your background.
I'm going to stay on this case, I promise you.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
I'm like a dog.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
I agree, I agree. Don't let it die. I'm not
going everybody to take a look at les portrait. Yeah,
it's amazing, and it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
And Bob, you're a good man to have called in
and I appreciate it. And it's only with supportive people
like you can we fight this. Thank you, Bob, appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Yeah, that a great night too.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Let me go to.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Larry down to the Cape.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Larry and the Cape next on nightside, go right ahead.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
And this is infuriating. You know, my son's the Boston detective.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Yes, I do know that he used.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
To be in a division called vehicular Homicide. Sure, this
is this is all they do is investigate this stuff, right,
Has anybody contacted that unit?
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Well, that unit, as I'm sure you know, through your son,
h does their investigations and then that unit would, through
the normal chain of command, pass on to the District
Attorney's office something, you know, their findings.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And I am.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Sure that the DA is sitting on this. I don't
know why. Maybe there's a legitimate reason why he wants
to hold off on bringing charges. I don't know that
the reports have been very consistent. This guy apparently was
not They do not believe he was on drugs or on.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Alcohol.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
So it's a question of negligence. It's a question of
the Hiculo homicide. There's a five year old dead boy.
He watched that kid walk off the bus. He closed
the door, and within a matter of seconds, according to
the Globe article, he began to drive, knowing that he
had dropped the kid off on the wrong side of
the street, and he ran this kid over.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
I mean, what's it's it's discouraging. I'm going to Thanksgiving
to my son's house. I'll just ask her if he
knows anything.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yeah, I would really appreciate that. There you have my number,
give me a call because if I find out that
that you know, and if I tell your son that,
if that, if you tell me you if you want
to tell me by deep background, off the record, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
But if you if.
Speaker 7 (36:20):
You tell me, I don't everything is off the record.
Believe I don't want to get my son.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
No, I understand that.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Say be careful what you find out and then be
careful what you tell me, because I will tell you that.
I you know, I I can tell you that I
would keep it between you and me, but I don't
want to get myself dragged into a one know.
Speaker 7 (36:39):
Do I want you to understand have Thanksgiving and yelling
about no.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
No, she's cutting she's cutting Christmas trees in Nova Scotia,
you know with family portraits lyn'ce Joseph was it didn't
get to go on the trip to Nova Scotia to
cut the Christmas tree, did he? I know, I appreciate
it so much. Thank you, my friend, Thank you. Uh,
let me get one more here, and you're gonna do Rob.
(37:05):
I'm gonna hold Steve from Bridgewater over if I have to. Steve,
I only get about a minute, but I'll be happy
to hold you over on the other side of the
tent if you like, because we'll stick with this on
the other side of the tent.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
Go right ahead, all right?
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Yeah, yeah, I was just couldn't ask. I mean, I'm
outridged by the tomb. The kid got off the bus,
Like you said, why didn't you wait to see the
kid cross the street before.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
D Yeah, I mean that's why it was.
Speaker 4 (37:33):
Waiting looking both ways to see if a car was coming,
and he'd moved before the cave got a chance to carus.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, oh, this is this is outrageous. This is this
is not let's assume that hypothetically. I remember one time
a long time ago, late at night, driving home and
I was in Hyde Park, uh, and a dog ran
out in front of my car. I couldn't stop and
I hit the dog.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It was like twelve thirty and there are a bunch
of people out there, and I said, well, you know,
I may, I may get a beating here, but I
know I wasn't. I'm not drunk, I'm I'm driving. I
went back, talked to them. They appreciated the fact that
I stopped. I felt horrible. I felt horrible, but I
was in one of those streets where his cars on
both sides aparked. Uh, and the dog just got off
(38:24):
the leash uh and and ran out in front of
my car. But there's no way after hitting a dog
that I'm going to drive off. And if I was
going to get a beating that night by a bunch
of drunks, I'll take the beating as opposed to driving off.
To be honest with you, and that's what I did.
I was about I was twenty years old at the time,
A long time.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Yeah, all right, all right, there was something else that
was going to ask me, what do you think would
carry me over till after.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Yes, I'm going to carry over. So you stay there.
You'll beat the first up on the other side. Okay,
thanks Stave. Rob will take care of that. The only
line opened is six one seven Boston. This happened in Boston.
I want to hear from you as well, and I
want to hear from everyone on this one.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
This is an outrage.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Let's work to We can't bring this little boys back
to life, but let's let's do this in his memory,
and let's make sure we get justice for Len Lens
Joseph coming back on nightside
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