Testimony will continue today in the trial of a former Horry County school bus driver charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense in connection with the 2009 death of a Myrtle Beach-area high school student.
Michael Joseph Burns, 78, denied being responsible for the Nov. 2, 2009, vehicle crash that killed 17-year-old Marc Chaplin. The teen's motorcycle and the school bus Burns was driving collided.
"There was a blur in front of me and that's when the accident occurred," Burns said.
He is charged with failure to yield the right-of-way. His trial began Tuesday in front of Magistrate Margie Livingston.
Chaplin was going west on International Drive while Burns was going east. Burns attempted to turn left onto S.C. 31 when the crash occurred. Horry County Assistant Solicitor Paul Taylor on Tuesday told the magistrate court jury of five men and two women that Burns did not have a green turn arrow at the time of the crash and pulled into oncoming traffic.
"He turned when he shouldn't have. He was in a hurry and negligently turned," Taylor said in his opening statements.
"In this case you will see how serious the consequences are if we don't abide by those [traffic] laws."
Chaplin, a senior at the Academy of Arts, Sciences & Technology, died after his 2008 Kawasaki motorcycle and the 2004 school bus collided.
On Feb. 5, troopers with the S.C. Highway Patrol cited Burns with failure to yield the right-of-way after an investigation.
"With the traffic patterns we saw, there was no way Mr. Burns could have had the dedicated green traffic signal," Highway Patrol Cpl. J.R. Shull testified.
"He believed he had the right to make the turn."
Chaplin, whose base school was Myrtle Beach High, was on his way to the academy on International Drive.
Several defense witnesses testified Burns had a green turn arrow and that Chaplin sped up when the traffic light in his lane turned yellow.
"I saw him speed up a lot while I was slowed down. He went into the intersection and hit the front of the bus," said Roy Cohen, a 17-year-old who attended the academy with Chaplin. "I knew he was going to try and beat the light. I knew he was going to hit the bus."
During his testimony, Cohen said Chaplin had a reputation around school as being a "reckless driver" on his motorcycle.
Prosecutors plan to call witnesses to rebut that testimony today, while Burns' attorney, Gene Vaught, said he had witnesses to confirm it.
No students were on the bus at the time of the crash, and Burns was returning to North Myrtle Beach High School after dropping students off at the academy, authorities said.
Alvin Weinerman, who was driving another school bus behind Burns that morning, testified he saw parts of the bus flying in the air after he heard a loud noise.
"Was there a green turn arrow?" Vaught asked Weinerman.
"Yes, there was," Weinerman said.
"Is there any question in your mind about it?" Vaught asked.
"No," Weinerman said.
Burns has driven for the school district for five years and drove for a North Carolina school district for 13 years before that, he testified.
He was found guilty of the same failure to yield charge in December 2007, according to Horry County records, although details on the incident weren't available Tuesday.
If Burns is convicted, points could be assessed against him on his driving record and he could face a fine.
Chaplin's parents, who attended the trial but did not address the court, have sued the school district and state department of education for neglect, according to a lawsuit filed Nov. 2 in Conway.
Rodney and Cathleen Chaplin are seeking $600,000 for actual damages and legal fees in the suit.
The Chaplins seek compensation for the "extreme emotional anguish, lose of care, comfort and companionship" by their son's death. They also seek to recover compensation for doctor fees, hospital bills and funeral expenses.
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