Los Angeles News

Goldstein: Probing School Bus Drivers And Drugs

OXNARD (CBS) ― Maria Ignacio and her family still visit the memorial for her daughter Edith.

Two years since her death the picture is now faded -- the flowers wilted but the memories remain.

"I think why? Why?"

Ten-year-old Edith Luna was walking to school. The fourth grader was struck and killed by this school bus. Her backpack still visible in the crosswalk.

"It's hard for me that she is not here with me. I miss her too much. She was my baby. She lived with me. She lived in my room."

Her older brother Evan says Edith had dreams of being a doctor or a vet...when her life was struck down by the school bus.

"It's like unbelievable she's not here anymore. She was a person that everyone noticed when she was there."

[Stand-up] This is where it happened. On Doris and H Street. Edith was crossing here. The bus driver making a left-hand turn hit Edith right around here. The bus driver said she didn't see her. That was the official report on the day of the accident. But weeks later, drug tests revealed something else.

According to toxicology reports from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, the bus driver tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

And, perhaps more suprising. A blood test detected methadone. The driver was a methadone addict.

(Nat sound) "I do."

This is the driver -- Angeline Lopez. Seen here in a deposition in the family's lawsuit against her and Durham School Services -- the bus company. The trial is set for August.

"Did you tell anyone at Durham that you were taking methadone?"
No.
"No trainers?"
No.

She says she kept it a secret even though it's illegal for bus drivers in California to use methadone. She also didn't tell them about another addiction.

"Your methadone started as a result of a heroin addiction?"
Yes.
"You took heroin for how long?"
For about seven months.

(SOT) I'm David Goldstein with Channel 2 News.

"I tried to question Lopez -- but she wasn't talking.

"Do you think it's right to be on methadone and drive a school bus? Ms. Lopez, do you think the fact that you had drugs in your system played a part in the accident?"

Surprisingly, the CHP concluded that drugs did not play a part in the accident. But other evidence in the case alleges Durham falsified training records regarding Lopez.

And a California Department of Education investigation prompted by the accident found several Durham drivers in Oxnard not allowed to drive because of inaccurate records.

A Durham spokesperson told me the company goes above and beyond state law and said "any allegation that Durham falsified records and deliberately placed unqualified drivers on the road is false."

But explain that to the family.

"How can they let someone under the influence of drugs drive a school bus?"

You miss her?
"A lot. A lot...I miss my daughter."

So while Edith's picture may be fading -- her memory will stay forever.

"She's my baby."

In Oxnard, David Goldstein, CBS 2 News.

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