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Horry bus driver charged in connection with 2009 wreck - Feb. 8, 6:12 p.m.
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An Horry County school bus driver has been charged with failure to yield the right of way in connection with a Nov. 2, 2009 accident in which an 18-year-old student riding a motorcycle was killed. (File Photo by Michael Smith | The Chronicle).
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By Michael Smith, Charles Perry and Heather Gale
The Chronicle
A bus driver with Horry County Schools has been charged in connection with a wreck that resulted in the death of a student on his motorcycle, and remains on administrative leave.
Michael Joseph Burns, 77, of Little River, was issued a ticket Feb. 3 charging him with failure to yield right of way, according to the Horry County Public Index.
The S.C. Department of Public Safety confirmed the charge is linked to a Nov. 2, 2009 incident, in which a school bus and motorcycle collided on the S.C. 31 overpass at Grissom Parkway, killing the motorcyclist.
Marc Chaplin, 18, of Myrtle Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Horry County Coroner’s Office.
According to a copy of the arrest ticket obtained by the Carolina Forest Chronicle, Burns has a court date March 3 in Horry County Magistrate Court.
Horry County Schools spokeswoman Teal Britton said Burns has been placed on leave with administrative pay. He hasn't driven a bus since the November 2009 incident.
The accident occurred when a motorcycle heading north on Grissom Parkway collided with a school bus, which was heading south, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Chaplin was a student at the nearby Academy for Arts, Science and Technology. He was heading to school when the wreck occurred.
Shortly after the wreck, the school district said Burns had just finished dropping off students at the AAST and was headed back to North Myrtle Beach.
When reached at home Monday night, Burns declined to discuss the case.
"You would have to talk to the school district," he said.
According to public records, the S.C. Highway Patrol also cited Burns in 2007. The exact nature of the citation wasn't available as of press time.
Britton said Burns received some driver retraining after the 2007 incident. The school district is declining further comment, she said, until the 2009 case is resolved.
More details to this developing story will be posted as they become available.
Read the full story in the Feb. 11 edition of the Carolina Forest Chronicle.
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anonymous |
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2/8/2010 |
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