Henderson woman faces 36 counts in Nashville school bus crash

NASHVILLE — A Chester County woman is now facing charges in a November school bus crash on Interstate 65 in Nashville.

Christina Mathis

Christina Mathis, 29, of Henderson was indicted Thursday by a Davidson County grand jury in the Nov. 18 bus crash. She faces 35 counts of aggravated assault and 1 count of felony reckless endangerment, according to the Nashville District Attorney’s Office.

Three school buses from Chester County were reportedly on the way to a Beta Club conference in Nashville. While attempting to get off an exit, the bus reportedly over-corrected, struck a guardrail and overturned.

“An extensive investigation by the MNPD’s Traffic Unit, led by Officer Carey Steel, concluded that Mathis was traveling too fast as she exited I-65 onto a ramp with a posted advisory speed sign of 40 mph,” a release on the city of Nashville’s website states. “As the result of going too fast, Mathis lost control of the bus.”

A total of 48 people including Mathis were on the bus, according to the release. A total of 35 were injured with two considered critical.

The two students critically hurt were treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released on Nov. 24 and Nov. 29, according to the release.

Mathis will be arraigned in the Davidson County Criminal Court in the near future but a date has not yet been set, according to the DA’s office. Her bond was set at $50,000.

An inspection of the bus by the Tennessee Highway Patrol found that it had no mechanical defects, according to the release.