LEESBURG, Va. — The owner of a decrepit school bus converted into a food truck was convicted Friday of involuntary manslaughter and four other charges in a 2017 crash that killed a woman.
Tony Dane was convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter, as well as having no driver’s license, insurance or safety inspection, in the Sept. 8, 2017, death of Erin Kaplan, 39, of Ashburn.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
In closing arguments, Dane’s attorneys said the failure of the bus’s brakes was not enough to find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. “This was not criminal negligence; this was a tragedy,” said public defender Adam Pouilliard.
However, prosecutors said Dane made the conscious decision to not maintain his vehicle, which Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Perry called “a 22-thousand pound behemoth deathtrap.”
Perry reminded jurors that Dane’s bus didn’t have enough power steering fluid in it to reach the bottom of the dipstick, making it virtually impossible to turn. He was only interested in getting to a high school football game to sell hamburgers, prosecutors said.
“The life and family of Erin Kaplan were shattered because of the negligence of that man,” Perry said of Dane. Kaplan’s three children and her mother were injured in the crash.
Dane had personally changed the brake line of his bus days before the crash. He had no experience as a mechanic.
Jurors heard a recording of Dane telling a sheriff’s deputy his brakes had been “spongy” during the 55-mile drive from Front Royal to Leesburg.
Perry said Dane was warned before the crash: “His brakes were screaming at him; he should have pulled over.”
Although prosecutors and the defense expected Dane to take the witness stand in his own defense, he changed his mind. Jurors were reminded not testifying is any defendant’s constitutional right.
The jury has recommended that Dane spend 11 years, six months in prison. A judge will make a final decision on the sentence.
On Tuesday, the judge will pick a date for Dane’s final sentencing.
