The owner of a school bus which crashed in Offaly 6 years ago causing the death of a teenager has received a suspended jail sentence for failing to maintain the bus.
The bus lost control and flipped over on a bog road just outside Clara in Co. Offaly on April 4th 2006 when the back axle came away.
15-year-old school boy Michael White died as a result of “catastrophic injuries” suffered in the crash.
Raymond McKeown, a co-owner of Clara Cabs, River Street in Clara pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to maintain the bus in a condition that was safe and without risk to the health and welfare of persons other than his employees.
The school children who traveled on the bus had reported loud bangs and rattling to the bus driver. The driver reported this back to Mr. McKeown who said he would service the bus during the upcoming Easter break.
His lawyers described it as a 'foolish decision' which was in part down to the fact that the bus had passed an official roadworthiness test months earlier.
