Before a bus he was driving crashed into a tree and injured 11 children Friday, John Guy was convicted of driving to endanger twice, and had several other convictions on his driving record.
Maine records show Guy, a 21-year-old Kittery resident, had seven convictions on his driving record — two for driving to endanger, two for speeding and three for driving with a suspended license.
Guy was recently hired to be a camp counselor at the Kittery Community Center, and he was driving a small bus with children between the ages of 9 and 11 to a field trip Friday when he went off the road, hitting a tree in Greenland, New Hampshire.
Kittery Town Manager Kendra Amaral said the town should have performed a background check and reviewed Guy's driving history before letting him drive the bus, but Amaral does not know if Kittery followed its policy in this case. She said the town is launching an internal investigation into its hiring practices.
"As a parent myself, there are a lot of questions out there," said Amaral.
All 13 injured in the crash have been released from the hospital and are expected to recover.
New Hampshire State Police say Guy suffered an unspecified medical event at the time of the crash. Amaral said Kittery does not preform pre-employment physicals, and said she was not aware of what kind of medical event Guy experienced. Attempts to reach Guy Monday were unsuccessful.
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Lt. John Hennessey said the crash is still under investigation and charges are possible.
Guy has been placed on leave from the Kittery Community Center as the town continues its internal investigation. Amaral said children and staff members are back to camp Monday, but are still upset.
"To know that there are children who were involved in a very tragic and horrific accident, and that these children are injured and scared, and parents are scared, it has shaken up the staff," she said.
