Charges Filed In Fatal Wreck Involving Wake County School Bus

Police in Raleigh have charged a teenager in connection to a crash involving a Wake County school bus in which another teenager suffered fatal personal injuries.

On October 8, police charged 16-year-old Franklinton resident David Lawrence Asato with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in connection to the September 27 crash in which 14-year-old Raleigh resident Jared Paul Williams was killed.

Police said Williams was a passenger in a Kia Asato was driving when he collided with the rear of a bus on Falls of Neuse Road.

Asato and 16-year-old Raleigh resident Nolan Mayo Lundberg, another passenger in the Kia, were both injured in the crash.

The accident report said that the bus was turning left from Falls of Neuse onto Harps Mill Road when Asato, who was traveling at a rate of 60 mph in a 45 mph, struck the right rear of the bus.

The Kia ended up underneath the bus, which was forced into a 1999 Honda that was waiting at the traffic light at Harps Mill Road.

No students were aboard the bus at the time of the collision and the bus’ driver and two occupants of the Honda were uninjured.

The report said there was no indication that Asato attempted to brake or swerve to avoid the collision.

Police noted that Asato has a provisional driver’s license, meaning that under North Carolina law, he is not allowed to have more than one non-family member as a passenger in a vehicle he is operating.