Yeah the lack of mention about why the bus didn’t have its handbrake on, or of any investigation into that matter, was a bit weird.
From the article: “The incident has been reported to officers from Richmond Police District who have commenced an investigation.”
If I was the driver’s lawyer, I’d be instructing him to keep his mouth shut for the entirety of that investigation and whatever criminal charges might follow.
At the start of the video the bus is stopped on a downhill, so the handbrake must have been on. Did it fail or did a student release the brake? Whatever the answer, the driver failed to maintain proper control of the vehicle and and also failed to supervise the kids. A lot of people could have died and he’s in big trouble.
The hill doesn’t look particularly steep, and I think the bus was already rolling at the start of the video, seemingly from an even less steep section. I wonder (pure speculation here) if perhaps the bus was at first holding in place thanks to only the resistance provided by being in gear.