Lens Joseph’s Death Exposed Transdev’s Missing Crash Data

Transdev missing – Prosecutors described how a Transdev driver ignored a stop sign, missed multiple stops, and ran over Boston kindergartner Lens Joseph after dropping him on the wrong side of the street. Yet a federal safety database that regulators rely on recorded no indicati

On the day 5-year-old Lens Joseph was killed by a Boston Public Schools bus last year. prosecutors said the driver had already struck a postal truck. ignored a stop sign. and missed several stops. When he arrived at Lens’ house, he dropped the kindergartner off on the wrong side of the street. Then he ran over the child as Lens crossed in front of the bus.

Lens Joseph’s father. Esaie Joseph. described the moment as something that upended his family’s life—after a day on the road as a long-haul trucker in North Carolina. he received a phone call about the crash and learned his only son was dead. Lens was Joseph’s “smart guy. ” he said. and Joseph kept the boy’s soccer ball and toy cars after the death. including a Spider-Man-themed car because Lens loved the superhero.

But for regulators and the public trying to judge how safe Transdev is, the crash itself came with a second, colder detail: the federal database that tracks serious bus crashes did not record Transdev as the company involved.

In a written statement. Transdev said it complies with “federally mandated reporting standards. ” adding that “transparency and continuous improvement are central to our safety approach” and that the company works with oversight agencies and its clients to meet or exceed expectations. The statement did not answer why crashes associated with the company were not logged under its safety record. Transdev stressed that reporting crashes is the responsibility of law enforcement.

That dispute over responsibility is exactly where the story turns from one tragedy to a systemic question—and it is built on a simple mismatch.

Over the last decade, WBUR and ProPublica found at least 60 fatal crashes involving buses operated by Transdev. In the federal safety system maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. only 18 fatal crashes appeared under Transdev’s name. That leaves 42 fatal crashes tied to Transdev that are not identified as Transdev’s in the public record.

In Lens Joseph’s case, prosecutors said the driver’s conduct included multiple safety failures before the fatal run-over. The federal record. however. lists the motor carrier for that April 2025 crash as “CITY OF BOSTON MVMB”—an abbreviation for the city’s Motor Vehicle Management Bureau—which acquires and manages municipal vehicles. The record does not mention the school district or Transdev.

Transdev has been Boston’s sole bus contractor since 2013. The company hired and trained the driver of the bus that killed Lens.

Those details collide with a reality that regulators and families can’t easily see: when crashes are logged under a different name—sometimes an agency that contracted with Transdev. sometimes an entity acquired by Transdev. sometimes a city bureau—FMCSA’s public dataset can fail to point to the operator people want to evaluate.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which oversees commercial motor vehicles, relies on the Safety Measurement System to pinpoint unsafe companies. The process that feeds that system is faulty, the reporting found, because it identifies only a fraction of a carrier’s fatal crashes.

“That is a serious. serious gap in safety. ” said Peter Kurdock. general counsel with Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. a nonprofit that promotes transportation safety and has pushed for improvements in crash data for years. “And it’s a serious, serious shortcoming when it comes to the regulation of these carriers by FMCSA.”.

The consequences are not abstract. The full safety record of Transdev—one of the largest private operators of public transit in the U.S.—remains obscured from regulators, the public, and the local agencies that might award it a contract.

Kurdock said FMCSA needs to fix its safety data, “especially in Boston,” where regulators are deciding who should carry children to school.

The deadly crashes associated with Transdev span at least 16 states and involve pedestrians, at least two bicyclists, and other vehicles. Lens’ death and at least two others have resulted in criminal charges against bus drivers. Transdev did not provide comment on any specific crash.

Alongside Lens Joseph’s death, the reporting highlighted other cases where the federal system masked the company that operated the bus lines.

In 2017. the death of registered nurse Renée Shea in southern Massachusetts appeared in federal records under the name of the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority. not under Transdev. which was the contractor at the time. A police report described a bus made a left-hand turn into the path of the Jeep SUV Shea was driving. The report also said the bus company’s driver. Margaret Correia. may have been distracted because she began to take off her jacket before she made the turn. Correia could not be reached for comment.

Correia pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent operation of a motor vehicle, court records show. A GATRA spokeswoman said Shea’s family received $1 million from the area transit agency’s insurer. Charlie Shea. Renée’s ex-husband. told WBUR he wants her death included as part of Transdev’s safety record so the company can be held accountable. “It’d make them more accountable,” he said. “They would have to use their safety records to get contracts from the state or the counties or from schools.”.

Outside Massachusetts, federal records list different motor carriers for fatal crashes. In a November 2023 Las Vegas crash. federal records list the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada as the motor carrier of a transit bus that killed bicyclist David Ortiz in a crosswalk. Court records state that driver Johnelle Johnson—a Transdev employee—pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge. A lawsuit by Ortiz’s family against Transdev and the driver was settled for an undisclosed sum.

Transdev began operating the Las Vegas-area bus system in 2023 after it acquired First Transit, which originally held the contract, according to the commission’s records. Even after the acquisition, at least five fatal crashes across the United States remain recorded under First Transit’s name.

Beyond fatal crashes. WBUR and ProPublica also examined serious. but nonfatal. crashes involving Boston Public Schools that were tied to Transdev buses—incidents where any person was transported to a hospital or a vehicle was towed. In a December 2024 crash outside Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain. a bus lurched onto a sidewalk and struck an 8-year-old boy with autism and his school aide before smashing into two fences. according to a police report. The crash sent both victims to the hospital with long-term injuries, their civil lawsuits against Transdev allege.

Police stated that a bus camera showed Transdev driver Vitony Laguerre’s eyes were closed and his head was back before he pressed the accelerator. Laguerre pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

In that December 2024 crash, the federal record lists the city of Boston, not Transdev, as the carrier. Attorneys for Laguerre and for both crash victims did not comment for this story. Laguerre and Transdev denied they were negligent in the crash, according to records in an ongoing civil case.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper declined an interview request. A spokesperson for the district did not answer a list of questions. but in a written statement said the district follows established safety protocols and has worked with Transdev over several years to improve accountability and performance. “We will continue to work with our transportation partner to monitor performance. address issues as they arise. and ensure every student gets to and from school safely. ” the statement said.

The reporting also traced how the system that produces this public safety record operates—and why it can leave the wrong company on the page.

The current system began after a federal push for safer roads. In the 1970s and 1980s. rules put the burden on bus and truck companies to self-report serious crashes to the U.S. Department of Transportation. including fatal crashes reported “as soon as possible. ” and injuries or serious vehicle damage reported in writing. and in triplicate. Investigators and companies later complained the process was burdensome and inadequate. including because investigators could not tell whether companies failed to report their accidents.

In 1993, the Department of Transportation decided to end self-reporting by carriers. Today, local law enforcement agencies send bus and truck crash information to state agencies, which submit it to FMCSA. After investigating. a local officer fills out a form asking for the bus company—the “carrier”—involved in the crash and the company’s U.S. Department of Transportation identifier.

FMCSA training material recommends that officers determine which company should be included by figuring out which entity “controls” or “directs” the bus. For transit and school buses, the answer can be complicated. Transdev employees may be behind the wheel and the company may manage daily operations. but transit agencies or school districts may choose the routes. In such cases, Transdev’s role often disappears in the data.

Transportation experts and former FMCSA officials said bus companies can voluntarily inform FMCSA that crashes logged under other names belong to them. But Alex Scott. a University of Tennessee. Knoxville transportation expert. said companies rarely update the federal record. according to research he published in 2021. “There’s not really an incentive for them to account for all of their crashes,” Scott said. “If a company could just magically make them go away, of course they would.”.

Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy. a former teacher in the district where Lens attended school. became a critic of Transdev’s operations after learning that the company is not required to take steps to ensure all its crashes appear in its federal safety record. “Horrifying,” she said. “Why would they be able to not report accidents — one that was a fatal accident?. There’s nothing worse than a fatal accident.”.

Congress gave FMCSA more comprehensive inspection powers in 2012 after several passenger bus crashes with multiple fatalities. When Transdev underwent a review in 2016. investigators uncovered what they described as “numerous crashes” not listed as part of the contractor’s safety record. according to the inspection report. The report said there were enough crashes that FMCSA planned to give Transdev a “conditional” safety rating—one that would mean the company had insufficient safety procedures.

Transdev appealed and argued that its drivers could not have prevented many of the crashes investigators uncovered. FMCSA investigators urged Transdev to report to the agency when its role in a crash is not reflected in safety data. yet Transdev’s name continues to be absent from many of those crashes. the reporting found. Transdev did not comment on the recommendation.

In Boston. the company’s safety record appears to show no serious school bus crashes over 10 years—but the reporting found at least 71 serious Boston Public Schools crashes involving Transdev that weren’t under its name. “The knowledge of this motor carrier’s operation. any motor carrier’s operation. is critical. ” said Darin Jones. a former FMCSA Midwest field administrator who spent more than 35 years in federal transportation safety and often oversaw investigations. “If you don’t have the full picture of an operation, how do you truly know what’s going on?”.

Lens Joseph’s death became a local flashpoint, and it also landed in a criminal case.

The driver of the school bus that killed Lens. Jean Charles. became ineligible to operate a school bus in December 2024 after a required driving credential expired. according to a statement from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office last year. But the company did not remove him then. In the weeks before Lens died. Charles had two minor collisions and underwent remedial training. the statement said. and soon returned to work.

On the day of Lens’ death, prosecutors alleged Charles began his shift without conducting a required pretrip inspection. One of the bus’s four rear tires was flat, and a safety crossing bar was broken. Transdev is in charge of maintenance, though it’s unclear how long the problems existed.

Prosecutors said that if Charles followed procedures, the bus would have been sent for repairs. Instead, he set off on the route to UP Academy Dorchester, where Lens climbed aboard.

At 2:42 p.m., Charles dropped off Lens and the child’s 11-year-old cousin on the wrong side of their street. To get home, they would have to cross in front of the bus.

Neighbor Carolyn Tomlinson was inside her home cleaning windows when she heard cries of a child. She went outside and saw the cousin screaming at the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Washington Street, where Lens was on the ground.

“I’m looking at Lens, just lying there,” Tomlinson said. “And as a mom it broke my heart.”

Tomlinson said she dialed 911 and held the cousin in her arms to comfort her. “I was praying with her, saying, ‘It’s going to be OK. God’s got us,’” Tomlinson said.

Lens’ father, Esaie Joseph, said he stopped driving trucks after his son’s death and moved with relatives to a new neighborhood away from the crash scene. He now works as a driver for a city of Boston van service for seniors.

He and his family are suing Transdev and Charles. Joseph said he wants some good to come out of Lens’ death and for Transdev to operate safely.

“The first thing I hope is justice for him,” Joseph said. “They have to care for safety so something like this will not happen again.”

Charles pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and other charges in March. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Charles resigned from Transdev soon after the crash.

Transdev did not comment about the crash itself. The company said it discussed its safety measures publicly during a Boston City Council meeting last August. In civil court filings, Transdev and Charles denied they were negligent or reckless.

Transdev is in the third year of its five-year, $651 million contract with Boston Public Schools, transporting about 19,000 students every school day. The company is also seeking to expand in Boston, where it is one of three finalists for a multibillion-dollar commuter rail contract.

Even so, the federal record still does not show Transdev as the operator of the bus that killed Lens.

Neighbor Tomlinson wants that to change—she wants the death included under Transdev’s name so regulators can hold the company accountable and agencies and school systems can understand who they are hiring.

“It should be visible to the ones that need it, so we can see it and keep our babies safe,” Tomlinson said.

Lens’ death, the missing entries in the federal record, and the stories that appear under different names add up to a single, relentless problem: families and regulators are not looking at the same safety ledger—while buses keep moving children to and from school.

Transdev FMCSA school bus safety Lens Joseph Boston Public Schools crash data Safety Measurement System Motor Carrier Management Information System Peter Kurdock Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Jean Charles