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Students are still being driven to and from school every day by a bus driver who cost the Tucson Unified School District $4.5 million after he made an illegal left turn and collided with a teacher's car, leaving her with significant brain damage.

While anyone can have an accident and the district stands by the way it handled the case, Jorge A. Herrera's personnel file going back to his hire date in 2000 shows multiple warning signs and second chances:

● He received a 65 percent on a defensive driving test — 80 percent is considered passing.

● His initial six-month probation had to be extended for three months because of concerns about his driving skills.

● He was written up for several minor accidents and received at least four tickets from police, including one for a head-on collision, before the 2006 crash.

Concerns have continued after the accident, too. In March, a TUSD school safety officer witnessed Herrera following too closely behind the car in front of him and revving the bus engine. The officer reported Herrera to his supervisor for aggressive driving.

That history doesn't sit well with Margaret Jackson, who is still adjusting to a body that doesn't work right despite more than $403,000 in medical bills.

The bus practically had to be lifted off Jackson's car — she was pinned against the seat by the frame of her windshield, her skull fractured and her face crushed. After two weeks in the hospital, two weeks at a rehab center and about a dozen surgeries, her left side is held together with mesh, plates, screws and cadaver bone.

Formerly an active athlete, she can't jog or ride a bike. Any sudden movement makes her nauseated. Headaches come with the territory. And because people with brain injuries often don't block out stimulation well, it's easy to be overwhelmed.

"I'm still finding where I fit in the world and how I can still contribute," said Jackson, 47, a former language arts teacher who taught for 20 years.

Jackson's attorney, Barry MacBan, lays the blame with the district. "If they've got a guy like this, with this many problems who is still behind the wheel, even now, with no punitive action whatsoever, I would not feel comfortable having my children on any of those buses."

Herrera did not respond to interview requests. The district official in charge of transportation, however, counters that Herrera's record doesn't indicate any "profound" safety risks and stressed that the district overall has a safe record.

Tom Mulligan, who took over the transportation department in January, said district drivers log 4.9 million miles annually. There have been about 25 accidents — most of them minor — since the school year began, he estimated, adding that's a good record considering the congested roads.

There were mitigating circumstances in the 2006 case, he said. The road in that area has dips that obscure oncoming traffic, he said, adding that statistics show most people will be involved in a significant accident at some point. Still, he said the case was an anomaly.

"You don't hear about accidents of this magnitude happening all the time because of the effectiveness of our training and oversight," Mulligan said.

Contracts with the blue-collar union dictate response to some degree, he said. The department uses a progressive model of discipline, he said, with a heavy focus on supervision, counseling and retraining. "We're going to try to work with people. We want to be a positive employer for these folks."

But, he added, safety comes first. "At the end of the day, we're not keeping drivers around who are hazardous to children. I don't need lawsuits, accidents or injured kids."

Because TUSD admitted liability in the case, Herrera's driving record never came up in the September trial to determine how much Jackson's injuries were worth.

But records show that just months after Herrera began working for TUSD, supervisors already were counseling him for his "shaky beginning."

In August 2000, he "exercised poor judgment" because he parked his 30-foot bus in a small convenience store parking lot and subsequently hit a post. He didn't report the accident.

That same month, a complaint was lodged that Herrera drove off a paved street to take a shortcut through a wash. Herrera testified that he didn't remember the incident, but the complainant said that kids were screaming.

Weeks later, he was involved in two minor accidents, running into a sign at one middle school and hitting some trees at a high school. Days afterward, a parent of a special-needs student called to complain that Herrera sped past her house "really fast," then put the bus in reverse and "sped backward." The parent refused to put her child on the bus.

His supervisors sent him to a driving refresher course but complaints continued.

A man called in February 2002 to report that Herrera was tailgating and "pushing" cars in what was termed a "road rage" incident. Herrera said in his deposition that he never tailgates.

Two months later, a bus monitor reported that Herrera had gone "very fast" down a dirt road that wasn't part of his route and, as a result, she spent the weekend in bed with a backache.

In January 2003, a complainant said he saw Herrera cut in front of a motorist, causing the driver to brake to avoid being sideswiped. Herrera testified that he didn't recall the incident but said that sometimes members of the public "flip us off and then call TUSD saying that we were doing something wrong just to screw us up."

Dick Haney, a 72-year-old research contract negotiator at the University of Arizona, recalled having run-ins with Herrera twice in November 2004.

Both times, he said, Herrera cut him off as he was headed into work and he had to hit his brakes to keep from hitting the bus. "I'm a fairly tolerant person, but the second one really set me off," Haney said in a recent interview.

Haney said he was satisfied when the person who took his complaint said Herrera would be spoken to.

But in September 2005, a caller said the driver braked so hard on the Tolson Elementary School route that kids went flying and several children went to the nurse's office with bumps and bruises.

In his deposition, Herrera said that wasn't accurate. "Kids are so liars," he said. Sometimes, he said, kids think they're getting hurt when they really aren't. "You need to work with us so you can see how liars they are," he testified.

That report came just weeks after Herrera was involved in an off-duty crash while moonlighting with a commercial trucking service.

Herrera testified that a white car in front of him had come to a stop, but he didn't see a blinker or brake lights. He jammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending it, he said, then swerved into an oncoming traffic lane, crashing head-on into a car. Herrera said he didn't see the lights on that vehicle, either.

He was cited by police for failing to control his speed and for driving on the wrong side of the road. Herrera told district officials about it because he racked up five points on his license. Drivers can't drive if they exceed eight points.

Attorney William Risner, who is representing the driver and passenger in a civil lawsuit, said while both were injured, the driver in particular had "horrendous" injuries and had to spend time in the intensive care unit. The case is scheduled for trial in March.

In the Jackson case, Herrera testified he was taken off his normal route on the day of that accident because the students were misbehaving. "They stir you up big time and you can't drive a school bus under those conditions because you are getting tense. You are getting mad," he said in his deposition.

He ended up taking the new route that day that would put him in Jackson's path.

Herrera testified that he didn't see her car, saying she just appeared "like magic."

Janice Hopkins, a retired collections agent who sat on the jury, said she heard testimony about what a solid, active teacher Jackson had been.

"I do feel sorry for the woman, both for what she's gone through and what she's going to be going through," she said, adding it would be difficult to imagine Jackson ever being able to teach again.

The jury also awarded $200,000 to Jackson's then-7-year-old daughter for the loss of her mother's care and comfort.

Most of Jackson's award was covered by TUSD's liability insurance, with the district paying a $500,000 deductible.

While a TUSD spokeswoman said the award is the largest in the past five years, a search of Arizona Daily Star archives indicates it may be the district's largest personal-injury assessment ever.

TUSD also settled five claims filed by parents and guardians of children who were among the 32 Maxwell Middle School students on the bus at the time. Three settled for a total of $14,000, according to risk management officials. The remaining two settled for $1,750 each.