Utah
"Investigators suspect Michael Austin Ford, 58, started school bus fires on Feb. 24, 2022, and April 7, 2023, according to charging documents. He was also driving when two other buses ignited, the documents state, including one “dramatic display” that partially engulfed a school bus in 2017 but caused no injures, The Associated Press reported. The fires all originated from beneath each bus’s dashboard."
"in February 2022, Ford allegedly set a Granite School District school bus on fire that had 42 children inside and did so while driving in traffic. As alleged in court documents, Ford used an ignition device to start a fire on the bus and was captured on video continuing to drive the bus, despite smoke billowing past his face towards the back of the bus where children were seated. "
"In April 2023, Ford was again driving a Granite School District bus in traffic when he was captured on video igniting a fire on the bus. Again, Ford continued to drive the bus with smoke billowing past his face. Days later, in April 2023, Ford was arrested by Granite School Police and questioned about the fire but was released.
Charging documents state that Ford had repeatedly disabled bus surveillance systems or had “issues with the system.” That, coupled with the fires, led the district to alter the equipment to keep recording after it had been turned off. Horsley said they also adjusted camera angles to better capture Ford’s actions.
That’s how cameras recorded Ford using a lighter to ignite electrical components beneath his bus’s dashboard on April 7, according to the charging documents.
Fires have also broken out at two of Ford’s homes and in one of his personal vehicles, the charging documents state.""
Former School Bus Driver Accused of Igniting a Bus Full of Children is Indicted and Detained | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
SALT LAKE CITY — Michael Austin Ford, 58, of West Valley City, a former Granite School District bus driver, was ordered detained March 1 by a U.S. magistrate judge after he was accused of setting the school bus on fire on two occasions. Ford was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 21 for...
www.atf.gov