UPDATED: District attorney issues statement on plea deal with school bus driver and state in fatal Rockland incident

Mon, 08/10/2026 - 3:05pm

Sarah Shepherd

Emergency vehicles keep a scene secure while State Police reconstructionists assess and take measurements. (File photo and caption by Sarah Thompson)

UPDATED (Aug. 10): District Attorney Natasha Irving issued a statement Aug. 7 on the state’s decision to dismiss the manslaughter charge against the RSU 13 bus driver, Jeffrey Colburn, 65, of Camden, who struck and killed 12-year-old Brayden Callahan on Nov. 21, 2025.

On Monday, Aug. 3, a judicial settlement conference was held in Knox County Court for Colburn. A hearing for a misdemeanor plea hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 11, according to the court document. The manslaughter charge against Colburn will be dropped and he will be charged with a civil violation.

The following is the statement from the district attorney.

“On Monday, August 3, a prosecutor and a victim witness advocate from my office, along with the parents of Brayden Callahan, met with Justice William Stokes and defense counsel in the matter of State of Maine vs. Jeffrey Colburn for a Judicial Settlement Conference at the Knox County Courthouse. The purpose of these conferences is to bring parties together to negotiate this case in good faith, with significant input from an experienced Maine judge who has the benefit of reviewing all the evidence. During hours of discussion, I was called into the conference on speaker phone with my prosecutor, victim advocate and Justice Stokes, where he explained his analysis of the evidence. I couldn’t attend in person because I am prosecuting two serious felony matters that were being set for trial in Belfast. Justice Stokes reviewed reports, and perhaps most crucially, a video of Mr. Colburn driving the bus. The video showed Mr. Colburn open the door to the bus to let three children off, then close the door, looking down for approximately 2 seconds, and begin driving, killing Brayden. This video is the key piece of evidence regarding criminal negligence, which is defined as a gross deviation from the standard of conduct a reasonable and prudent person would use in the same situation.

Justice Stokes, who was a homicide prosecutor, the chief of the criminal division at the Attorney General’s office, and a Maine Justice who has presided over dozens of homicide trials, told me that he did not believe we could prove criminal negligence beyond a reasonable doubt. He believes that it would have almost certainly resulted in a hung jury or an acquittal. He does not believe this horrific tragedy was the result of criminal negligence. He does not believe Jeffrey Colburn is guilty of a crime. Justice Stokes complimented the extraordinarily thorough investigation conducted by the Rockland PD, with significant guidance from our office and collaboration with other state and federal authorities. It is because of this investigation that we have a full picture of what happened that day.

After a long discussion with Justice Stokes and the members of my team, whose judgement and experience I have complete trust in, I decided that depending on the input from Brayden’s parents, I would agree to dismiss the criminal charges and file a civil charge of committing a traffic infraction causing death. I went back to the courtroom in Belfast while Justice Stokes spoke with Brayden’s parents, with the victim advocate present. He compassionately explained his thoughts to Brayden’s parents. He explained that he believed 12 people would never agree to convict Mr. Colburn, and that the most likely result was a hung jury, putting us back to square one after a trial. I cannot convey in words the agony that victims who have lost a loved one in a crash feel. I cannot convey the weight the legal system puts on victims over a period of months and sometimes years. Some families want a criminal conviction at all costs, but not all families. We brought Brayden’s parents to this conference asking them to trust Justice Stokes, his wisdom and analysis, without knowing what he would say. After hearing from the judge, they did not want to continue on this painful path, they did not want blood, they did not want jail time for Jeffrey Colburn, but they wanted this to be over. They want Mr. Colburn to accept responsibility for causing the death of their son, which he is doing by admitting to the civil infraction causing death. They want children to be safe and for no other parent to have to suffer this same tragedy. I asked Brayden’s parents in coming into this conference to listen to one of the most respected, trusted, and experienced judges in Maine, and they did. If I ask that of them, I need to be able to do the same.

There is no question that Mr. Colburn’s actions took the life of Brayden Callahan. There is no question that he acted with negligence. The only question is whether the act of looking down for a moment, while beginning to drive the bus, was a gross deviation. In cases of vehicular manslaughter, alcohol or drug impairment, often combined with dangerous speed, are almost always involved, as driving drunk, high, 30 miles over the speed limit, or all of those combined, is clearly a gross deviation from how a reasonable person would drive. To convict Mr. Colburn of manslaughter, twelve members of a jury would need to agree that the act of looking away from the roadway is not only wrong and unacceptable, that it is negligent, but is so shockingly worse than a reasonable person would drive, that it falls into the same category as driving drunk, high or extremely fast.

I respect and understand the position of Chief Carrol. The standard of criminal negligence is difficult to grasp, and when we pair that with the fact that a child died, it is extremely difficult to separate our emotions from our duty. This is compounded by the public nature of this terrible tragedy. Based on the opinion of Justice Stokes and our experience presenting this case to the grand jury of ordinary citizens, I believe that continuing this case as a criminal prosecution would be a dereliction of my duty as District Attorney. My role, the role of prosecutors, is not to seek convictions, but to seek justice. I have taken many cases to trial over the years, and I have had wins and losses. In every one of those cases, I strongly believed the defendant was guilty of a crime, even if it was tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. I have never taken a matter to trial, taken a person to trial, when I had serious doubts as to whether they committed the crime they were accused of. I have those serious doubts in this case. My decision cannot be made on my emotions, on self-interest holding public office, or on pressure from others in the criminal justice system.

Mr. Colburn is an ordinary man who made an extraordinary mistake, one that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Brayden was a regular kid whose future was taken from him. Brayden’s parents have experienced an unimaginable loss. People who witnessed this tragedy and ran to try to save Brayden’s life were deeply traumatized. Children witnessed this. Our community has been shaken and our faith that our children are safe going to school has been destroyed. I have faith that Attorney Steve Smith, representing Brayden’s parents in the civil process, will fight to hold the system that failed Brayden accountable and force the needed changes that will make our children safe.”

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UPDATED (Aug. 6): Attorney Stephen C. Smith, who is representing the parents of Brayden Callahan, issued a statement on Aug. 5 regarding the proposed plea agreement reached with the defense and state. The parents, Kelley Morse and Shane Callahan, have filed a notice of intent to sue both RSU 13 and bus driver Jeffrey Colburn.

“Brayden was a beloved twelve-year-old child. His death has forever changed his family, and no legal proceeding can undo that loss,” said Stephen C. Smith of Steve Smith Trial Lawyers, counsel for Kelley Morse and Shane Callahan. “They are not without sympathy for Mr. Colburn and the profound consequences he will carry. But their primary concern is that RSU 13, the institution entrusted with protecting children on its buses, be held fully accountable for the safety systems, training, supervision, and decisions that failed Brayden.”

“This tragedy was not simply a moment on a roadway; it occurred within a school transportation system for which RSU 13 was responsible,” Smith said. “The District was entrusted with the safety of children it transported. We will continue to pursue all available civil remedies on Brayden’s parents’ behalf and demand answers about RSU 13’s hiring and retention practices, driver training, supervision, bus-safety procedures, and every institutional decision that may have contributed to this preventable loss.”

In the release, Smith also said the family asks the public and the media to respect their privacy as they continue grieving Brayden and evaluate the reported criminal resolution.

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ROCKLAND – The driver of a school bus who was charged with manslaughter after the bus struck and killed 12-year-old Brayden Callahan on Nov. 21, 2025, will not serve any jail time.

A Knox County grand jury indicted Jeffrey Colburn, the bus driver, for manslaughter on Jan. 15, 2026. He pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge.

On Monday, Aug. 3, a judicial settlement conference was held in Knox County Court for Colburn, 65, of Camden. A hearing for a misdemeanor plea hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 11, according to the court document. The manslaughter charge against Colburn will be dropped and he will be charged with a civil violation.

Rockland Police Chief Tim Carroll said on Aug. 5 that he believed that the original criminal charges against Colburn were justified.

Carroll issued the following statement on the Rockland Police Department’s Facebook page.

“The Rockland Police Department has been notified by prosecuting authorities at the Knox County District Attorney's Office that the investigation into the tragic RSU #13 school bus crash, which resulted in the heartbreaking death of 12-year-old Brayden Callahan, will not result in criminal charges. Instead, the matter will proceed as a civil violation, which carry no possibility of jail time.

Following this tragedy, I asked our community for patience as our detectives began a meticulous and exhaustive investigation. I believe the members of the Rockland Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) delivered on that expectation. Our detectives spent weeks following every piece of evidence, building a thorough and detail timeline of events, to ensure the District Attorney’s Office (DA) had complete, accurate information to seek justice.

Our investigators gathered and presented evidence that we believe demonstrated criminal gross negligence. However, following extensive legal evaluation, prosecutors at the Knox County District Attorney's Office determined, in their opinion, there was insufficient evidence to prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial and continue with the criminal case.

With over 30 years in law enforcement, I understand the high burden of proof required to build a courtroom case and the immense emotional strain a trial places on witnesses—especially the many children and young people who would have had to relive this trauma on the stand. I certainly wish no further harm to anyone impacted by this tragedy and understand speaking to the DA that the family was part of this decision process.

However, given the thoroughness of our investigation, the findings of that investigation and the weight of what occurred, I personally believe that criminal charges were justified. Any questions on this charging decision, which rests solely with Knox County District Attorney’s Office, should be referred to them.

Our thoughts remain with Brayden’s family, his friends, and everyone in our community affected by this unthinkable loss."

Attorneys Jeremy Pratt of Camden and Caitlyn Smith of Bangor were appointed by the court earlier this year to represent Colburn. Public Defender Services has approved funds for the representation. Colburn discharged his first lawyer, Jonathan Goodman of Portland, earlier this year.