The DMV Screws Up

On October 20, 2006 at the corner of Quaker Lane South and Boulevard my son’s school bus driven by convicted felon Robert Fountain struck and killed 65-year-old Dean Carlson. No children were aboard the bus at the time, Fountain had just dropped off the high school kids and was on his way to pick up the elementary school kids. Subsequent blood tests showed that Fountain has cocaine in his system. The astute reader may well ask what the hell Fountain was doing driving a school bus in the first place?

The DMV was in the process of trying to suspend Robert Fountain's license roughly a month before the accident because it had subsequently learned he had a criminal record -- including a pending narcotics charge--deemed serious enough to bar him from receiving the license in the first place, said William Seymour, the agency spokesman.

Let's forget that creepy feeling parents all over West Hartford have right now upon learning that they have been entrusting their little princes and princesses to the tender mercies of a convicted felon, after all there was no harm done there. The family and friends of Dean Carlson are probably wondering if Dean would be alive if the DMV had done their job. I know it's fashionable to kick the DMV around and with good reason. It's the land that accountability and productivity forgot.
In a weird way I don't even fault Fountain, he is what he is and was just trying to hold down an honest paying job, unfortunately he was allowed to drive a bus and poor Dean Carlson got killed. Fountain is not the only one responsible for this sad series of events, but I bet he's the only one who will pay.