Charges have been laid after a young boy was killed while getting off the school bus near his house in December. Dante Caranci, 7, was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the day after being struck on Longwoods road. Atir Gayyur Mir, 47, of Milton, has been charged with dangerous operation of a conveyance causing death, and Jose Lema, 82, of London, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death. According to police, Gayyur was working as a delivery driver at the time of the crash, and Lema was the driver of the school bus. When asked why the driver of the bus was charged, police said, “On Dec. 16, many safety steps were ignored by Mr. Lema, including failure to ensure, traffic was stopped, and it was safe for the child to exit the bus and cross the roadway.” A question about the age of the bus driver was raised at the press conference held by London police on Thursday, where the media was told, “...You have to be over the age of 21 years, but there’s nothing in legislation that says there’s a maximum [age].” In order to get your bus license, police said drivers do courses with the ministry, written tests, a driving test, medicals, as well as vision tests. Once all of that is done, police said the drivers may also do additional training with the bus company. Police went on to say, “It’s every five years that they [drivers] would then do additional testing that’s required unless your company requests additional training [before the five year mark].” “This tragedy has devastated a family and deeply affected our community,” said London police Chief Thai Truong. “Our investigation was thorough and deliberate, and we are committed to ensuring accountability while continuing to prioritize road safety for every Londoner — especially our children.”
