By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
The Leander ISD bus driver was not charged criminally for the rollover that sent 16 children and himself to the hospital, the Department of Public Safety said this week.
The driver of the bus, Tim Gall, showed no signs of impairment but, according to the DPS, Gall did receive tickets for two traffic violations: Failure to drive in a single lane and not wearing a safety belt. He no longer works for LISD.
In addition to the driver, the majority of the 46 students also were not wearing seat belts, according to LISD officials.
“The Department of Public Safety’s report noted that a majority of students were not fully utilizing seat belts at the time of the accident,” shared Crestina Hardie, LISD chief communications officer.
LISD school bus #750 carrying 46 children and the driver rolled over on August 13 on Nameless Road, sending 17 people to hospitals and prompting a large emergency response on the district’s first day of school.
The crash happened around 3:15 p.m. as the bus was taking Bagdad Elementary School students home. Superintendent Bruce Gearing said he believed no children had been dropped off before the rollover.
By August 14, LISD confirmed that everyone taken to hospitals had been released.
Seat belts
Hardie shared that state law does not make school districts legally responsible for ensuring students wear seat belts but she said “we take this finding very seriously. Student safety is always our top priority, and we continually remind and encourage our riders to buckle up every time they are on a bus.”
Hardie said that the district is reviewing additional ways to reinforce this message with students and families, “because wearing a seatbelt is one of the most important steps to staying safe.”
Since this rollover, Leander ISD is strengthening its seat belt expectations by implementing clear guidelines: if a bus is equipped with seat belts, students should be wearing them.
“Transportation Services will now require drivers to walk the aisle before departure to ensure compliance, and these protocols will be added to both the transportation handbook and the district handbook. Student safety is—and will remain—our highest priority,” Hardie said.
Every day, Leander ISD runs about 165 to 168 buses on daily routes—and every one of those buses is equipped with seat belts, due in large part to the 2023 Bond, which allowed us to purchase 104 new buses, Hardie said. All of LISD’s special education buses also have seat belts. In addition, the district operates 37 field trip buses and seven substitute buses, all with seat belts. Only after these are in use would LISD assign one of its older buses without seat belts.
Rollover details
Bus #750, a 2024 model equipped with seat belts, was traveling south on Nameless Road — which has a slight curve — when it veered off to the right and overturned, according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Billy Ray. It had been raining at the time.
The accident occurred in the 22500 block of Nameless Road in western Travis County.
First responders set up Round Mountain Baptist Church as a reunification center. Students not needing medical care were taken there and all were reunited with their families by that night of August 13.
In letters to families, Gearing said counselors and social workers were dispatched to Bagdad Elementary the following day.
“This part of our Leander ISD family has been through so much already this summer with the floods, and this tragedy… is really breaking our hearts,” Gearing said during a news conference on August 13. “We want each of those students and their families to know that our prayers are with them, our thoughts are with them, and we will do everything that we can in our power to support them.”
Gearing described bus driver Gall as a “seasoned veteran.” He was on paid administrative leave.
On August 26 the district confirmed that Gall no longer works for LISD, Hardie said.