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Chattanooga, Tenn. • A school bus driver was behind bars Tuesday after a crash killed five youngsters and plunged Chattanooga into mourning.
Police said Johnthony Walker, 24, was speeding along a narrow, winding road Monday afternoon with 35 elementary school students aboard when he wrapped the bus around a tree. Walker was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide.
Chattanoogans lined up to donate blood, created a memorial of flowers and stuffed toys at the crash scene and planned an evening prayer vigil. Parents who send their children off to school every day struggled to come to grips with the shock and break the news to their loved ones.
"It's real tough, said Dujuan Butchee, whose daughters, Jamya and Janesa, are eighth-graders who used to go to the same school as the youngsters killed in the wreck. "It's tough on my kids because they know some of the victims as well."
Police said Walker was driving well over the posted 30 mph limit when he lost control of the bus, which was not equipped with seat belts. He was jailed on $107,500 bail for a court appearance Tuesday on charges that included reckless driving and reckless endangerment. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer.
The hospital said 12 children remained hospitalized Tuesday: six in critical condition and six stable.
Dr. Darvey Koller, a pediatric emergency-room physician at Children's Hospital at Erlanger, said identifying the students after the crash was a lengthy process in some cases.
"Many of them were scared or too dazed to talk to us," Koller said at a news conference Tuesday. "Because of their young age, many of them were unable to spell their names, did not know their birthdays or even their parents' names — several said 'Momma' when they were asked what their name was."
Hospital staff photographed each child and showed the images to teachers to figure out identities, he said. Their families were notified, but their names were not released.
"The most unnatural thing in the world is for a parent to mourn the loss of a child," Mayor Andy Berke said. "There are no words that can bring comfort to a mother or a father. So today, the city is praying for these families."
Craig Harris, a parent of two children who were on the bus, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the bus driver sometimes drove too fast. "There has been times where I've seen him going a little faster than he probably should be going." He said his daughter and stepson were in shock and pain after the crash.
Walker had an accident involving property damage in September, and his license was suspended for about a month in 2014 for failure to show proof of insurance, according to state commercial-driver records. He appeared to have no criminal record in Tennessee, authorities said.
Hamilton County School District spokeswoman Amy Kutcher declined to say whether the district had received any complaints involving Walker, who was employed by an outside bus contractor.