School Bus Driver Faulted for Accident

An off-duty school bus driver was at fault for a traffic accident Jan. 28 in Thousand Oaks that sent an Encino woman to the hospital, but the driver will not be cited, authorities said Thursday.

Joan Potter, 54, of Ventura, was driving a Durham Transportation bus contracted to the Conejo Valley School District when she ran a red light on Avenida de Los Arboles about 11:10 a.m., Deputy Brad Clifton said.

Potter broadsided a Mitsubishi Mirage driven by 54-year-old Cristina Ramirez of Encino, who was driving north on Lynn Road.

Ramirez’s car rammed into a Honda Civic driven by 17-year-old Erik Cohen of Thousand Oaks.

Ramirez was trapped in her car for 10 minutes before firefighters removed the driver-side door to free her.

She was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center with head injuries and a broken arm, and was released Thursday, center spokeswomen Kris Carraway said.

Potter suffered a bruised arm, and Cohen was not hurt. None of the three vehicles was carrying passengers.

Durham Transportation spokeswomen Joyce Sharpe said the company has not taken any action against Potter--hired in mid-December and now on unpaid administrative leave--because officials have not seen the investigation’s findings.

In-house penalties faced by Potter range from additional training to termination, based on a recommendation from the company’s safety committee, Sharpe said.

Potter will not be cited by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department because of a policy under which deputies do not ticket drivers for minor moving violations unless they are direct witnesses to the infraction, Sgt. Claude Robillard said.