BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has ordered an independent investigation of the public school district’s contracts with its transportation provider, Transdev, after a bus driver with lapsed credentials and a spotty driving record killed a 5-year-old boy.

Wu and Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper said Friday that Mintz attorney Natashia Tidwell, a former federal prosecutor and police officer who specializes in external investigations, will lead the probe of safety policies and performance under the Boston Public Schools’ contracts with Transdev.

The review is responsive to a fatal school bus crash that occurred April 28 in Hyde Park and killed 5-year-old kindergartener Lens Arthur Joseph. The involved BPS driver, Jean Charles, a Transdev employee since May 2023, resigned on May 14 after he was suspended for the crash and prior to his termination hearing.

“We are heartbroken,” Wu said in a statement. “No family should ever have to suffer the loss of a child, and the public deserves a full understanding of how this could have happened and what changes are needed. This independent review, separate from the investigation led by BPD and the DA’s office, will closely scrutinize the Transdev contract’s safety policies and performance.

“We have also asked attorney Tidwell to deliver recommendations so that this horrible tragedy is never repeated,” the mayor added.

Transdev, an international transportation company that operates throughout the United States, has been contracted by BPS since 2013 to hire, train and manage the district’s fleet of school buses.

The investigation, per Wu’s office, will include a review of existing safety policies and performance, including under the bus driver collective bargaining agreement, and make recommendations to strengthen safety measures.

Charles, the involved BPS driver, had been driving with an expired school bus credential since last December, and had a spotty driving record as a bus driver with the district prior to the fatal crash, the mayor’s office said.

Transdev has disclosed that Charles’ driving record over the last two years included four minor incidents prior to the April 28 fatal collision, as part of his regular daily route. Two had occurred earlier that same month, for which Transdev pulled Charles off the road for two days for retraining.

The four prior collisions included a bus crash into a parked vehicle on May 22 of last year, contact with another car’s rear tire on Dec. 3 of last year, contact with another car’s bumper last month on April 9 and contact with another vehicle’s side mirror last month on April 14, the mayor’s office said.

On the day of the fatality last month, Charles had been assigned an additional route as a substitute driver to cover an early release for the Up Academy Dorchester. During that route, Charles hit another vehicle, but failed to notify a Transdev safety supervisor, who would have decided whether the driver would complete the route or be replaced, in violation of protocol, the mayor’s office said.

Instead, Charles continued on the route without notifying Transdev, and missed the turn onto Glenwood Avenue, where Lens Joseph lived. He instead arrived at the intersection with Glenwood Avenue by turning onto Washington Street, where the fatal crash that killed the 5-year-old boy occurred.

The independent review follows other steps the city says BPS has taken to crack down on Transdev performance since last month’s school bus fatality, and will occur in lockstep with the ongoing investigation led by the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, with the support of the Boston Police Department.

The transportation provider Transdev launched an immediate review of the some 400 school bus crashes that occurred each year in Boston and pulled seven drivers off the road “out of an abundance of caution,” as part of an audit of all drivers that was initiated to ensure appropriate and valid credentials, Wu’s office said.

A Transdev spokesperson said Friday, “We are working with the city to support the review process and are fully cooperating with all aspects of the investigation.”

Despite the Wu administration’s framing of the independent investigation as part of a series of other actions that were immediately undertaken to review BPS transportation safety, some of the mayor’s chief critics questioned why it took her so long to act, nearly a month after the fatality occurred.

“The loss was unspeakable, and sadly preventable,” Josh Kraft, Wu’s principal mayoral opponent, said in a statement. “Today, 25 days later, and announced the Friday before a holiday weekend, Mayor Wu has hired an outside attorney to conduct an investigation into what happened.

“And I would say, it’s too little, too late.”

Kraft characterized the fatality as “yet another example of failed leadership,” with “the most tragic consequences,” saying that “the city and BPS, under Mayor Wu, have failed” in its obligation to get kids to and from school safely each day.

“This is a public contract, using millions of public dollars, administered by a public entity, to transport public school students,” he said. “The responsibility, as well as the accountability, for the operation of BPS buses falls squarely on the mayor.”

The mayor’s order for an independent investigation comes two days after Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy called for a hearing “to review the hiring, training and compliance certification” of BPS bus drivers, in response to last month’s fatality.

The timing hasn’t escaped the notice of Murphy.

“I called for a hearing to demand transparency because silence was never an option,” Murphy said in a statement. “For three weeks, the administration ignored questions and refused to be transparent. I filed a hearing order to demand answers, and our push for accountability is what forced them to finally act. Lens and his family — and all of Boston — deserve the truth.”

Flynn also released a statement, saying that, “The safety of Boston’s children is non-negotiable. The independent investigation must review the certification and safety records of every BPS driver.

“We must act with urgency to address the BPS systemic failures that contributed to this tragedy,” he said, “and take meaningful steps to ensure it never happens again.”

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