Man convicted of negligent manslaughter in fatal Harford County school bus crash
A man has been convicted in connection with a Harford County school bus crash that killed a student and left another severely injured.
On Friday, John Anthony Gaeta, 40, was convicted of criminally negligent manslaughter after evidence in court revealed the defendant's actions moments before the fatal collision.
On September 18, 17-year-old Zachary Griffin was stopped on the northbound Route 543 to make a left turn onto Crescent Knoll Drive when Gaeta crashed into the back of Griffin's vehicle, forcing it onto Route 543. Griffin's car was then hit by a school bus, resulting in him and his passenger, 16-year-old Blake Elliot, being trapped inside the vehicle.
While Griffin survived serious, life-threatening injuries after being airlifted and spending 11 days in Shock Trauma, Elliot was unable to recover, being pronounced dead shortly after arriving by ambulance at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health.
New details revealed
During an on-site investigation, the Harford County Sheriff's Office Crash Team determined that Gaeta failed to press down on his brakes before the collision.
Search warrants were later obtained for Gaeta's vehicle airbag control module, which confirmed that 5 seconds prior to the crash, he neither braked nor attempted to steer away to avoid the collision.
According to the Office of the State's Attorney for Harford County, Gaeta drove 371 feet during those 5 seconds and only decreased speed from 53mph to 47mph.
The 40-year-old was also on his phone during his entire drive, using Her A.I., Instagram, and Chess.com. up until 38 seconds before the crash.
"Distracted driving, especially with the continuing evolution of technology in our society, is incredibly dangerous. When the evidence of an investigation of a collision demonstrates the significant amount of negligence and distraction in which this Defendant engaged and a life is taken, those offenders will be held accountable in Harford County because that is a choice to put our community at risk, and it will not be tolerated," Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healey said.
Officials found that Gaeta's phone was unlocked and illuminated at the time of the collision.
Sentencing scheduled for August
State's Attorney Alison M. Healey of Harford County stated that current laws do not provide enough punishment for these types of cases.
"These cases can be extremely challenging to prosecute, and the current laws simply do not provide sufficient sanctions and are frankly not enough. In addition, the standards are entirely too lenient for what defines a felony versus a misdemeanor," State's Attorney Healey said. "It is my hope that at some point in the future, Blake's story will assist in changing our laws for the better to hold offenders more accountable when a life is taken in this way."
Gaeta faces a maximum penalty of three years of incarceration and or a $5,000 fine.
His sentencing is scheduled for August 17, 2026.