By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Winlock man whose school bus went airborne some 25 feet and came to rest wheels down at the bottom of an embankment off Interstate 5 this past spring got his ticket changed.
Or more specifically, his wife did.
Ronnie H. Withrow, 53, was cited for running a stop sign after the April 9 incident. Withrow said the brakes went out and was praised for navigating the bus between a sign and a guard rail at the northbound exit to state Route 505. None of the passengers which included 32 members of the Toledo-Winlock High School soccer team were seriously injured.
A commercial vehicle inspector with the Washington State Patrol however found no mechanical failures or defects with the braking system. Withrow was suspended and subsequently resigned.
Debbie Withrow hired an attorney and at a contested hearing on July 17, the infraction for failing to stop at the stop sign was dismissed and in its place an infraction was issued for moving defective vehicle unlawful, RCW 46.32.060.
Debbie Withrow said they convinced Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard the wreck was caused by defective equipment, bad brakes.
“I’m just glad we were able to clear his name, because to him that was really important,” Debbie Withrow said today.
Ronnie Withrow declined to comment.
Exactly what the judge heard from the two attorneys isn’t clear. It isn’t described in court documents. The Withrow’s attorney didn’t return phone calls seeking information. Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson said last week he didn’t recall the details of the negotiations. It was an agreed motion to dismiss the first infraction to issue the new one.
Debbie WIthrow said her husband’s union apparently couldn’t officially assist him, as he was still in his probationary period on the job, but they helped.
“They did look up a bunch of information on those busses that showed those busses did have problem with brakes,” she said. “I took that into the court and showed it to the judge.”
It was a 2009 Thomas full-sized yellow bus, which is back in service now.
Ronnie Withrow had begun driving for the Winlock School District last September. Before that he did the same thing in Rochester for about two years, according to his wife, and also drove trucks after a number of years of working for a local bicycle manufacturer.
The accident has left him quite discouraged, according his wife.
“He totally loved being a bus driver, it was his dream job,” she said. “He loved being with the kids.”
Her husband doesn’t have any interest in trying to get his job back, and didn’t even care to pursue contesting the ticket, she said.
“It was all me, he just curled up in a ball and didn’t want to get out of bed,” Debbie Withrow said.
Trooper Will Finn, a spokesperson for the state patrol, said yesterday the agency stands by its finding there was nothing mechanically wrong with the bus. They blamed the wreck on inattention.
“The court system is the court system,” Finn said. “We have a job to do and the court system has a job to do.”
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For background, read “School bus wrecks off I-5 into swamp near Toledo” from Wednesday April 10, 2013 at 7:28 a.m., here
Just sack up and take it like a man! You made a mistake, we all do! Admit u were in the wrong and move on with your life!
If the state patrols inspection is “very, very thorough”……they must have had some EVIDENCE that they DO fail.
The good ‘ol boys club is not justice — State Patrol inspection is very, very thorough and a man should learn how to take his lickin’ and accept responsibility for his negligence instead of hiding behind his wife’s skirt.
@ Guilty Bystander: What doesn’t ‘smell right”? Do your own research specifically on that year, make and model of Bus. I have a hard time understanding why, with as many brake problems they’ve had with those specific buses that they’re actually still allowed to be used and transport children. Extensive inspection & re-inspections have been done on these buses. At times when brakes have failed, the inspection has shown “NO mechanical brake problem” after the fact. I’m not a brake specialist, but have done enough research & read enough reports to understand.
State patrol inspection is quite a comprehensive thing. Arguing before a judge to have him disregard the inspection results seems like yet another good ole boy event.
A union’s generalized claim that these busses have had brake problems elsewhere in the past is considered more compelling than a State Patrol inspection on this particular bus turning up no brake problem. Why does this not smell right to me?