Driver will be charged
By John Joyce
Published in News on December 15, 2014 1:46 PM
The driver of the Craven County Public Schools activity bus involved in a fatal wreck on U.S. 70 early Saturday morning will be charged, N.C. State Highway Patrol First Sgt. Jerry Burton said this morning.
Tawana Lewis, 32, of New Bern, will be charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
Fabiel Betancourt, 30, died at 3:04 a.m. Saturday when his SUV collided with the school bus at the intersection of U.S 70 East and N.C. 581.
Burton said Ms. Lewis was driving the activity bus, carrying Craven County high school students returning home from a championship football game, when she realized she was heading in the wrong direction.
"The activity bus was traveling west on U.S. 70 and needed to make a U-turn," he said.
Ms. Lewis did so, but in making the turn failed to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.
"She pulled out in front of Mr. Betancourt," Burton said.
The SUV Betancourt was driving struck the side of the bus and became pinned underneath it. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Along with the highway patrol, first responders from the Rosewood Volunteer Fire Department, Wayne County EMS, Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the Goldsboro Police Department assisted at the scene, Burton said.
Burton could not, however, confirm initial reports by other media of difficulty in identifying Betancourt because of the use of aliases.
"I don't know anything about that," he said. "This is the name he has been identified with through family."