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Durango bus driver cited for watching football game on phone while driving

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Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020 4:38 PM
A Durango Transit bus driver was cited with careless driving Saturday after a passenger allegedly shot video of him watching a football game while driving.

A Durango Transit bus driver was cited Saturday with careless driving after supposedly watching a football game on his cellphone while driving his route.

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, a passenger on the bus notified the Durango Police Department of the incident, telling officers he had video of the driver watching a football game on his cellphone while driving. Police met the passenger at the Durango Transit Center.

The video, according to arresting documents, showed the bus in motion and a cellphone placed on the dash of the bus, just to the right of the driver.

“Moving video is playing on the screen, and at first it’s not clear what the video playing on the screen is,” the responding officer wrote. “However, later in the video ... the video on the screen in the bus appears to show a football game and sports announcers can be heard.”

At the time of the incident, the Tennessee Titans were playing the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card playoff round.

The passenger who caught the incident on camera told authorities the bus drifted over the white line of the road and nearly struck a trash can around the 1000 block of Goeglein Gulch Road. The driver swerved and missed the trash can at the last second, the passenger said.

Jose Reyes, the passenger, said there were about 15 people on the bus at the time, including children.

The bus number, according to police records, was “970” on Route 2, which travels from downtown Durango to Fort Lewis College. The driver was identified as Steven Jackson, 42, of La Plata County.

After showing police the video, Jackson, driving the same bus, pulled up to the Durango Transit Center.

“In the bus I was able to see a cellphone still sitting in the same location as it was in the video,” the officer wrote.

Attempts to reach Jackson on Tuesday morning were not successful.

Speaking to officers, Jackson admitted to listening to a football game on his phone, but “was adamant that he was only listening and not actually watching the video.”

“When I informed him that one of his passengers filmed his actions, he stated something to the effect of, ‘I was afraid they would do that,’” the officer wrote in his report.

Sarah Dodson, acting director of transportation for the city, said as of Tuesday, Jackson is still employed as a bus driver.

However, it is clear Jackson violated city policy, which says no cellphones are to be used for personal use while operating a city vehicle, Dodson said.

“We are taking it very seriously,” she said. “Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we have policies in place to ensure our operations remain safe and dependable.”

Dodson said the city is investigating the incident, and there are different levels of punishment for violating city policy.

“We are still reviewing and making sure the correct path is chosen,” she said.

Jackson is scheduled to appear in court March 4.

jromeo@durangoherald.com

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