ROCKLAND, Maine — The city’s police chief issued a statement Wednesday after the district attorney’s office decided to drop a criminal manslaughter charge against the school bus driver charged for the death of 12-year-old Brayden Callahan.
Chief Tim Carroll said he believed criminal charges were justified.
District Attorney Natasha Irving confirmed on Tuesday that the manslaughter charge was being dismissed in exchange for Jeffrey Colburn, 65, of Camden, admitting to a civil violation of committing a traffic offense that resulted in death. The civil violation does not carry a jail term but instead carries a maximum four-year license suspension, maximum possible fine of $5,000, and a community service requirement.
“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,” Carroll stated in his written statement.
“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 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 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,” Chief Carroll concluded.
The boy’s grandmother, Peggy DeVarney, criticized the plea deal in a statement, Wednesday.
“Absolutely disgusting this just goes to show that the State of Maine holds the children of the state in little regard. I also feel as though the DA failed Brayden,” she said.
The attorney for the parents who have filed a notice of intent to use RSU 13 and Colburn issued a statement on Wednesday.
“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.”
The plea deal was reached during a judicial conference held Monday between the district attorney’s office, defense attorney, and Justice William Stokes who served as a mediator.
The proposed plea deal will go before another judge on Aug. 11 in the state court in Knox County for formal acceptance.
A grand jury indicted Colburn for manslaughter on Jan. 15. He pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge.
In Maine’s legal system, someone guilty of manslaughter “recklessly, or with criminal negligence, causes the death of another human being.” Recklessly is defined as when a person “consciously disregards a risk that their conduct will cause the death of another human being, and that this disregard is a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe. Recklessly is a higher level of culpability than criminal negligence, which involves “failing to perceive a risk that a reasonable person would have perceived.”
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 30 years in prison.
To have been convicted, a jury of 12 Knox County residents would have had to agree unanimously that the state had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to an accident report filed by Rockland Police, the student was in a marked crosswalk when Colburn accelerated. The accident report said it appeared from the onboard bus video that Colburn was leaning far to the right and did not keep his eyes on the road. Colburn told police he did not see Callahan. The video also showed the front crossing arm was no longer deployed.
Colburn is no longer employed by the district. The district has not said whether he was fired or resigned. That occurred before Dec. 3, 2025.
The boy’s parents filed a notice of claim Nov. 26, 2025, for $10 million against Regional School Unit 13 and Colburn. In Maine, a notice of claim must be filed before a lawsuit can be filed against a government entity. RSU 13 Superintendent John McDonald said on Tuesday there has been no update on that matter.
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.
The death of Brayden in November was one of two incidents in which a student was killed in a school bus incident in Maine. In December 2025, a 5-year-old child died when he was dragged by his school bus in Standish.
The last time this civil violation was used in Knox County was in January 2025 when 45-year-old Darreyl Wright was issued a four-year license suspension and $5,000 fine for a February 2021 head-on crash on Route 17 in Rockport that claimed the life of 26-year-old Elizabeth Sherfey.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.