Utah bus driver sentenced to 5 years in prison for setting school bus on fire

The main theme centers on accountability after a school bus arson case in Utah. Michael Ford, a 60-year-old driver who has worked for the Granite School District since 1998, was sentenced to five years in prison for intentionally setting a district bus on fire with a cigarette lighter in April 2023. Surveillance footage shows him igniting the dash area while driving, with smoke billowing around his face and no children onboard. Investigators say Ford also attempted to tamper with the bus’s video system days before the blaze, part of a wider pattern tied to eight fires involving Ford across multiple locations. The district lauded investigators and prosecutors for their work and emphasized safety. Prosecutors also noted that Ford was connected to four Granite buses, two residence fires in West Valley City, and one vehicle fire in Bluffdale and another in 2009, underscoring the breadth of the alleged incidents. In 2022, attorneys said Ford started a fire on a bus carrying 42 students; he used a fire extinguisher to suppress it. Ford pleaded guilty in March to arson of a vehicle owned by a federally funded organization; he was ordered to pay more than $21,000 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release after prison.