Former driver for Avella schools charged with endangerment
A Canton Township man who had been driving Avella Area Junior/Senior High School students to Western Area Career and Technology Center is no longer transporting district students after he allegedly stopped the school bus in a construction zone on Route 519 in Chartiers Township last month so a 17-year-old student could steal a traffic cone.
Michael Dennis Slider, 54, of 483 W. Wylie Ave., was charged Friday with 31 counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of theft and corruption of minors.
Slider was driving the bus for GG&C of Washington, according to court documents.
GG&C manager Kyle Templin said Slider has been suspended indefinitely without pay while the incident is being investigated.
Cyril Walther, school district superintendent, said Slider is no longer driving Avella students. He said parents of students who were on the bus were made aware of the incident.
The students were returning to the high school about 11:35 a.m. Sept. 15 when the bus entered a construction zone on Route 519 that involved a temporary lane closure.
A 17-year-old girl reportedly asked Slider to stop the bus so she could take one of the traffic cones that were on the shoulders of the road. Slider allegedly stopped the bus in the northbound lane and opened the bus door. The girl got off the bus, took a cone from the east shoulder of the road and got back on the bus, police said. The bus continued back to the high school.
When the girl arrived, she reportedly brought the cone into the school cafeteria, where she asked a teacher who was monitoring lunch if she could store it in her room until the end of the day. When the teacher and school police Officer David Watts asked where she got it, the 17-year-old responded she was given the cone by an automotive tech instructor at WACTC.
A short time later, Watts interviewed a girl who had been on the bus. She reportedly told Watts that she heard the girl ask Slider to stop the bus. Watts then interviewed the 17-year-old girl, who reportedly admitted to Watts she asked Slider to stop the bus, and that the driver stopped the bus in the middle of the road and opened the door so she could retrieve the cone.
Watts reviewed bus surveillance video provided to the school district by the bus company manager. The surveillance shows the bus stopping suddenly. The 17-year-old is seen getting off the bus, returning with the cone and placing it on a seat.
In the audio from the surveillance video, the girl is heard asking, “You gonna stop and let me get the cone?” Later, a voice identified by police as Slider’s is heard saying, “Hopefully they don’t have a look at the cameras for a couple of weeks. I have fun at this job.”
Police said Slider also is heard asking the girl how she plans on getting the cone into the school, and another student suggests saying it came from the auto mechanics department.
Walther said the allegations against the bus driver were concerning. The superintendent did not know if the 17-year-old girl faces charges, but he said those involved in the incident were disciplined by the district.
The charges against Slider were sent by summons from the office of District Judge David Mark. Slider is scheduled for a Nov. 7 preliminary hearing before Mark.