Crash Report: Maine Bus Driver Was Not Looking When 12-Year-Old Was Killed, Investigators Say

A newly obtained crash report offers troubling details about the moments leading up to the death of 12-year-old Brayden Callahan, who was struck and killed just steps from his home on Nov. 21, according to investigators.

The report, obtained by 8 Investigates, shows that Brayden had just exited his school bus and begun crossing in the designated crosswalk when the driver, Jeffrey Colburn, pulled forward and ran him over—first with the front passenger-side tire, then again with the rear tire. The report states clearly that Brayden “didn’t do anything wrong.”

Colburn told investigators he “simply didn’t see him.”

However, officials who reviewed interior bus camera footage found two key violations. First, the bus’s crossing arm was not deployed, a device specifically designed to keep students visible while crossing.

Second, the footage shows Colburn leaning far to the right, preventing him from maintaining proper visibility of the road ahead. State policy requires all school bus drivers to count each child exiting the bus and confirm their location before the bus moves, WMTW reported.

Following the crash, police conducted a sobriety test and collected blood samples from Colburn. While results are still pending, investigators say there is no indication he was intoxicated at the time.

8 Investigates also learned that Colburn had been involved in two prior crashes, both incidents in which he struck a parked car while driving an empty school bus—once in October 2022 and again last month. No injuries resulted from those crashes.

Colburn is now on administrative leave as the Rockland Police Department, in coordination with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, determines whether criminal charges will be filed, WMTW News 8 explained.