Church van driver charged after boy flies out. Police say he was driving with a suspended license

[Ian David]

WABC Eyewitness News

(Staten Island - WABC, March 23, 2007) - Police say a school van driver is charged with endangering the welfare of a child after a 6-year-old boy was thrown through an open door of a moving van on Staten Island -- a driver, they say, should have never been behind the wheel.
Eyewitness News reporter Nina Pineda is in the New Brighton section of Staten Island with the story.

What's so disturbing is that people who saw this happen say they saw the boy fall out at a busy intersection. They say it wasn't until about 200 yards that the driver stopped.

<snip>

Larry Robuck has been charged with child endangerment. Police say the 40-year-old was driving with a suspended license and did not have his 14 passengers, all kids, in safety belts.

<snip>

His employer, the Reverend Carolyn A. Jones, did not return several requests for comment, on why someone with a suspended license was hauling precious cargo.

This was not a New York City public school van. This was a faith based child care facility on Staten Island.

More:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5145178

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Is there a law in NY

that says church vans are exempt from seat belt laws?

[Book Lover]

3. My goodness, no

on edit: OK, I see I was misinformed: Roebuck said the 1996 Ford van he was driving is technically a school bus, which means, by law, it does not require seat belts. http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1174725022255240.xml&coll=1

I wasn't thinking the van could be identified as a school bus.

[DRoseDARs]

2. The Power of Christ compelled the children to stay in their seats. Unfortunately for the one kid...

...Jesus got distracted.

Fucking wingnuts. :eyes:

[kenny blankenship]

4. He wasn't a believer clearly

so what can you expect?

[DRoseDARs]

5. I'm guessing the poor young whelp is your Most Painful Elimination of the Day. n/t

[kenny blankenship]

8. Yeah, but I've been saving that line for someone who really deserves it

[jgraz]

15. The driver probably thought the kid was being raptured

[struggle4progress]

6. Van driver takes heat for boy's fall

Port Richmond resident, who had suspended license, endangered welfare of child, police say
Saturday, March 24, 2007
By PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Port Richmond resident with a suspended license was arraigned on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child yesterday after a 6-year-old boy was thrown through an open door of a van he was driving in West Brighton ...

The boy sustained head injuries, cuts and bruises, but was expected to be released from Richmond University Medical Center yesterday, according to a person who knows the child's family.

Roebuck, who said he had worked as a part-time driver for the Children's Life Center for only about two months, was fired from the job yesterday, according to someone who answered the phone at the school. The person said the school is conducting an investigation into the incident, and hopes to find out if Roebuck had a suspended license at the time he was hired.

Speaking through his defense attorney yesterday, Roebuck said the 1996 Ford van he was driving is technically a school bus, which means, by law, it does not require seat belts. He said he warned the youngsters the van lacked seat belts, and noted a day care provider was sitting in the back next to the 6-year-old boy before he fell ...

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1174725022255240.xml&coll=1

[struggle4progress]

7. .... What is the law regarding seat belt use on school buses?

New York State's school bus seat belt law requires all school buses manufactured after July 1, 1987 to be equipped with seat belts. New York State does not currently mandate seat belt use on school buses, but rather, leaves the a decision to each school district ...

http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/sbus-faq.htm

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. Why wasn't the suspended license discovered?

When we hire a new person, we give the DL number to our insurance company, who tells us within DAYS if the person has "problems". In our book, if a hand lies on his application (like about his driving record), he is fired. Can't believe that Podunk AR is stricter on these things than a borough of the Big Apple.

[struggle4progress]

11. Dunno. But if NY is anything like other places I've lived (MA, NC, PA, TX ...)

then enforcement for daycare centers and nursing homes is pretty low on the priority list.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. But it was our insurance company

that caught our guy who had a DUI without telling us. They told us that if we kept him on our insurance premium would go through the roof. You mean that insurance companies in NY don't look for these things and then tell the day care that their rates will go up? My bet is that they did, and the group just paid the premium without noticing the raise.

[struggle4progress]

13. I won't speculate about what happened.

I don't know what happened inside the van. I don't know with what diligence the daycare center checked on the driving records of its drivers. I don't know when the driver's license was suspended. I don't know the terms of the insurance policy. I don't know the full story on the NY law governing seatbelt usage in private school vans. In short, I lack almost any information I would need to express a meaningful opinion about this particular incident.

I do know that I've been in various daycare centers and nursing homes in several states over the years and that state enforcement is very often minimal, even when a substantial number of unfortunate incidents are associated with a facility. On the basis of that experience, I suspect very little will happen to the daycare center as a result of this event.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. On that I will agree

I worked in a daycare run by a branch of Arkansas government for five years and never saw an inspector.

[Evoman]

10. Poor kid.

That sucks