Former school bus driver accused of setting vehicle on fire with students on board

SALT LAKE CITY — A former school bus driver in Utah is accused of setting buses on fire two times with students in the vehicles, according to federal prosecutors.

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According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Michael Austin Ford, 58, of West Valley City, was charged with two counts of arson of a vehicle of an organization receiving federal funds.

Ford, a former driver for the Granite School District, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 21 and was detained on March 1, according to the release.

In February 2022, Ford allegedly set fire to a Granite School District bus that had 42 children and board. Prosecutors said he set the fire while driving in traffic, allegedly using an ignition device to start the blaze.

Surveillance video caught Ford igniting the fire, KUTV reported.

A second incident allegedly occurred in April 2023, prosecutors said.

Ford continued to drive the bus with “smoke billowing past his face,” the news release stated. He was arrested several days later by Granite School police but was subsequently released.

A detention memo filed by prosecutors said that video showed Ford allegedly attempting to tamper with the bus’ surveillance system and covering up the camera above the driver’s seat, CNN reported.

In October 2023, while the investigation continued, Ford’s home and personal vehicle were severely damaged by fire, according to the cable news outlet. It was the second time his residence had been subjected to serious fire damage, according to the detention memo.

Ford also allegedly admitted to investigators in three other bus fires when he was driving, as far back as 2001, CNN reported.

A jury trial for Ford was scheduled for April 29 in Salt Lake City, prosecutors said.

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