You Don't Say?

Second Child Dies of Injuries From Bus Crash, washingtonpost.com, School's Driver Charged In Unrelated Accident, By Leef Smith and Allan Lengel, Washington Post Staff Writers, Thursday, April 21, 2005; B01

A reader was kind enough to send this Washington Post story to us.

The facts are bizarre enough:

In a separate incident in Alexandria yesterday, a private school bus with faulty brakes and bald tires crashed, but none of the 34 students aboard was injured. Police said the driver should not have been behind the wheel. In yesterday's crash of the private school bus, the driver, Abdelrazeg Abdalla, 31, of Falls Church, was charged with several counts, including operating the Islamic Saudi Academy bus on a suspended license.

Investigators said Abdalla's driving privileges had been suspended at 12:01 a.m. yesterday because of insurance-related issues. He was fired by school administrators shortly after the charges -- including citations for reckless driving and driving a vehicle with faulty equipment -- were issued. "They determined that the bus had little or no brakes at all and that the tires were in fact bald," said Alexandria Police Capt. John Crawford, adding that investigators found skid marks to suggest that Abdalla tried to apply the brakes. The bus struck a Honda Civic, causing a chain-reaction crash involving the bus and three cars.

Virginia State Police determined that the bus was unsafe to drive and said it would remain out of service until the problems were repaired.

The Academy director of education, however, shows that he may have matriculated at any teachers' college:

David Kovilik, director of education for the Fairfax County academy, said the bus was not part of the fleet's normal daily rotation, calling it "a spare." He said that the bus passed its Virginia state inspection in July and that it was subject to daily mechanical checks as well as monthly preventive maintenance. "I looked at the bus [after the crash], and the tire tread was thin, and on one axle the brake was worn down to the metal," Kovilik said. "The other three tires had functioning brakes."

Kovilik said Abdalla was hired as a driver in August after a comprehensive background check that he said included a search for any past convictions and "points on his license." Kovilik said Abdalla's firing was based solely on his driving the school bus without a valid license.

He said he was stunned by news that Abdalla had a court record. "Oh no, no, no!" he said. "I'm going to revisit this."

No wonder he was hired!

The intrigue is just getting started. The Post article adds:

...[A] check of court records in Virginia revealed seven past charges, including several traffic violations for speeding and crossing a double yellow line. Several of the charges had been dismissed. Abdalla also had a misdemeanor conviction in Fairfax for abducting his estranged wife and 3-month-old daughter at knifepoint. He had originally been charged with felony kidnapping, but friends and family -- including his wife -- wrote letters of support to the court on Abdalla's behalf, and he agreed to plead guilty in May 2003, after nearly three months in jail, to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault and battery.

After his release, Abdalla was picked up by Department of Homeland Security officials and detained for about six months, according to court records. It could not be determined why he was detained. (Emphasis mine)

A phone number for Abdalla could not be found yesterday.

You don't say? Really? Abdalla could not be dialed, anywhere? How about 1-800-GO-TO-GROUND?

Is anyone home at the Department of Homeland Security? Just which "homeland" is it securing?
I wonder what Abdalla does when he is not driving the Islamic Saudi Academy school bus?