Operator of Fort Lauderdale Airport Shuttle Hired Ineligible Drivers

Feb. 22 -- At least eight ShuttlePort airport bus drivers have driving records with too many violations to let them be employed under the company's contract with Broward County, according to an analysis of the workers' state records. On Wednesday, county officials put the company on notice that it's in breach of contract.

The county is scrutinizing its contract with ShuttlePort, the company that provides busing within Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, in part after discovering that a driver in Sunday's fatal head-on collision between two buses had too poor a driving record to be employed.

Jackson Aristide, 55, who authorities say drove into oncoming traffic Sunday on South Perimeter Road in Dania Beach, had six points on his driving record when his bus hit another ShuttlePort bus, killing the other driver, George Pitter, 64, and a passenger. Aristide and seven other people were injured. The Broward Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash. No one has been charged.

ShuttlePort's contract with the county stipulates it is not allowed to employ drivers with three points or more on their driving records. The contract does not differentiate between points accumulated before or during the driver's employment.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel obtained Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles driving records of 44 of about 150 ShuttlePort employees who payroll records show were paid to drive the company's buses during the past few months. Seven, in addition to Aristide, were found to have three points or more. Some out-of-state records may not be included in the documents.

According to those records:

Eddie McKinney, 53, accumulated six points in 2002 in Broward for speeding and disobeying a traffic sign. In addition, his license was suspended four times for nonpayment of traffic fines.

Christopher Mignot, 31, accumulated four points in 2005 in Indian River County for driving 94 mph in a 70 mph zone.

Francilus Venelus, 30, accumulated three points from a careless-driving conviction in 2000 in Broward . He also had convictions for eight non-moving violations from 2000 to 2006, which didn't lead to any more points.

John Pabon, 35, accumulated four points for driving 72 mph in a 55 mph zone in 2005 in Miami-Dade County.

Elius François, 33, accumulated four points for improper lane change in 2003 in Broward.

Raymond Bernard, 49, accumulated four points in 2001 in Miami-Dade for driving 54 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Jose Arias, 48, accumulated three points in 2005 in New Jersey for an improper turn.

Kelly Smith, spokeswoman for ShuttlePort, declined to comment on the driving records.

"We are in discussions with the county about this," Smith said. "Until those discussions are over, all I can tell you is that safety is absolutely our No. 1 priority."

Airport spokesman Greg Meyer said that even one driver who violates the contract is unacceptable.

"It's unsettling and it must be rectified," Meyer said.

County attorney Jeffrey Netwon sent ShuttlePort a notice Wednesday that the company breached its contract by allowing Aristide to drive, a fact the company has acknowledged. The county will now wait for ShuttlePort to respond on how it's addressing the issue.

François said he didn't know he had four points, although he remembers getting the ticket in 2003, when he drove a hotel passenger van for Embassy Suites.

"I just gave it to my manager at the hotel," Francois said. "I think they paid it off."

He said he had no problem landing a job with ShuttlePort two years later. And he thinks the three-point threshold may be too harsh.

"It doesn't mean they are bad people," he said. "But I think if you have five points or more, I think you should not be driving a bus."

It isn't hard to acquire three points, said Sgt. Mark Wysocky, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Any moving violation is three points," Wysocky said, including speeding only 6 mph over the limit or running a stop sign or red light.

None of the other bus drivers could be reached for comment.

On Wednesday, airport workers met with ShuttlePort officials at their monthly meeting in Terminal 3. Aside from the bus drivers' driving histories, employees also worried about the large amounts of overtime some of the drivers worked. Company documents show that a few drivers regularly work up to 50 hours extra per two-week pay period. Aristide and Pitter both averaged about 20 hours of overtime per pay period over the past few months.

Stephen Platt, a Transportation Security Administration employee at the airport who uses the buses, said he wants to make sure ShuttlePort has only drivers who are "fit for duty."

"It's been fine. This is the first fatality that they've had," Platt said. "It's just something you've got to think about."

Staff Researchers Barbara Hijek, William Lucey and Jeremy Milarsky contributed to this report.

Copyright (c) 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.