Former school bus driver charged in death of boy, 5, run over by bus in Boston

A former Boston Public Schools bus driver was in court Thursday to face charges in the April 2025 death of a 5-year-old boy who was run over by his bus. Jean Charles, 39, of Brockton, was arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless motor vehicular homicide and negligent motor vehicle homicide in the death of Lens Arthur Joseph in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood.Charles was responsible for driving Lens, a kindergartner at Up Academy in Dorchester, and Lens' older cousin home from school, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said at the time of the indictment. The child died after being run over by the bus. "Without looking for Lens, checking his mirrors, without assuring that Lens had reached safety, the defendant accelerated, and Lens was pulled under," Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight said. In court, prosecutors said there is no evidence that Charles did a pre-trip inspection of the bus. If he did, the prosecution said, two defects — a faulty safety crossing bar and a tire issue — would have grounded the bus and another bus would have been put into service. "Because the defendant missed the proper stop and went the wrong way, he stopped the bus across the street from Lens' house," Knight said. Prosecutors also said just before the fatal crash, Charles hit a postal truck with the bus with students on board and drove off erratically. Charles' attorney called it a "tragic accident.""Not to compare what he's going through to what the family is going through, but he hasn't slept a good night since last April," defense attorney Ken Anderson said. "This has been a tragic thing for him as well."Charles posted $15,000 bail and was released on conditions that he surrender his passport and not drive. He will return to court on May 11.The prosecution said there is another subsequent hit-and-run crash pending against Charles."(Lens) didn't get home safely that day. It is the reckless actions of this defendant that opened an unfillable hole in the hearts of everyone who knew Lens and who loved him," Hayden said. On April 28, Charles missed the proper bus stop for the two children, which would have dropped them on the same side of the street as their home. As Lens made his way in front of the bus on Washington Street, Charles failed to perform the necessary safety protocols required of him to ensure that Lens crossed safely to his home, officials said.Waiting only a few seconds, and without accounting for Lens' whereabouts, Charles drove away and immediately ran over the child, officials allege."While nothing will bring back Lens, the Joseph family takes some comfort in the criminal justice system's efforts to hold the driver responsible for his actions," attorney Matthew Fogelman said in a statement on behalf of the family after the indictment was announced. "The family understands that the criminal process will now proceed. And we will continue to pursue accountability for Lens’ death against Transdev, the bus company, through the civil justice system."Driver had lapsed certificationCharles was employed by Transdev, the contracted bus company for Boston Public Schools.WCVB learned in May that Charles' certification to drive a school bus had lapsed in December 2024. It's unclear if Boston Public Schools was notified of the certification lapse before he got behind the wheel of the school bus the day of the crash.Bus contractor Transdev said it notified the driver that the license had lapsed, but he did nothing. Transdev is supposed to remove the driver from service, but BPS says it does not independently verify drivers are properly licensed.Charles, employed as a bus driver since May 2023, resigned in May 2025, prior to a scheduled termination hearing. Transdev said Charles’ driving record in the two years before the fatal crash included four minor incidents: Contact with a parked vehicle in May 2024, contact with another car’s rear tire in December 2024, contact with another car’s bumper in April 2025, and contact with another vehicle’s side mirror in April 2025. Transdev pulled Charles off the road for two days for retraining after the earlier April 2025 incidents.Transdev has been contracted by BPS since 2013 to hire, train and manage the district’s approximately 750 school bus drivers and maintain and operate the district’s fleet of school buses.Family sues bus companyIn July 2025, the boy's family filed a lawsuit against the bus company, Transdev, saying it was negligent in its hiring, training and supervision of its drivers, according to court documents.In addition to negligence, the family also said that Transdev failed to install several technologies, "including but not limited to stop-arm cameras, extended stop arms, crossing arms, surround cameras, pedestrian detection sensors, and automatic braking that affects the safety of children being driven by Transdev employees."The family asked for damages as compensation for impacts from the crash, including injuries, medical expenses and severe emotional distress.