Former Schwenksville Bus Driver Approved for Work Release

Judge Joseph A. Smyth granted work release to Frederick R. Poust III, 40, of Schwenksville, a former school bus driver who is serving a jail sentence in connection with a fatal crash that occurred outside , Feb. 17, 2010, according to a report from the Pottstown Mercury.

Poust pulled into the path of an oncoming vehicle as he was making a left turn onto the West grounds to drop off students that morning, according to the article. The bus collided with the 1999 Honda Civic, killing passenger Richard “Tripp” Taylor, a 27-year-old Gilbertsville man, and injuring driver Freddie Carroll, 41, of Perkiomenville. (Source)

Poust has served six months of his one- to two-year sentence, the article states.
"Under work release, Poust will be permitted to leave the county jail only for work purposes and will have to sleep and spend all non-working hours at the jail until he is paroled," the article continues.

Richard Taylor's mother, Shirley Johnson, told the newspaper, "'I was very disappointed that the judge would sign that order. I was shocked.'"
Since her son's death, Johnson has created a grief counseling and support center in Gilbertsville.

Read the full article here.

Editor's note: This article has been changed to correct the name Frederick Poust III.