Three siblings killed getting on school bus

[mjkacmom]

I’m so glad we have no buses here, having my kids being hit by cars is truly one of my biggest fears.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Then you misunderstood. You made a statement about the comments on this thread, which would include mine.
I wasn't putting words in your mouth, I was stating why the overwhelming viewpoint here in this thread, specifically my own, were seeing her as the one responsible.

Gotcha. Yeah that point I wasn't disputing for this specific situation. I get the reasoning because I share the reasoning. I was comparing it to how the uncle viewed the situation in regards to his focus on the bus stop location itself and concerns he had about it in the past.

My point was looking towards the uncle's viewpoint where it's possible this is a situation where the bus stop itself creates a higher risk for the children due to its location combined time of day (traffic and daylight issues due to time of year) and conditions. In other words it may not take a driver who disregards (for whatever reason) a stopped bus with its arm out for a terrible incident to occur thus it may have only a matter of time. An incident for example could occur on this stretch of road where it's darker out and the bus isn't there yet but the kids cross the street to get to the bus stop or due to no sidewalks walk too far into the street and a driver had no time for reaction and hit the children. It's possible that the school district should be reviewing if the bus stop needs to be relocated elsewhere or increased police activity should be reviewed, or the speed reduced or a few street lights if there aren't any right by the bus stop even as impractical as that might seem given its rural location, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m so glad we have no buses here, having my kids being hit by cars is truly one of my biggest fears.

It's not a getting to and from school situation that is the only way children get hit by cars.

There's not very many buses in the neighborhood as free busing isn't available due to our proximity to the elementary, middle and high school so parents have to pay a hefty fee but there sure are plenty of children that unfortunately don't walk on the sidewalks, don't look both directions before crossing the street, dart out into the street to get to their friends house, if they are walking on the street they are not facing the correct way, even adults do it. You could have zero busses in our particular area but the risk is still there.

When I was in elementary school someone I know his younger brother, who was riding his bike, was killed because his brother darted out in front of a vehicle. The vehicle just didn't have any time to stop.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

News at 5 pm- WRTV the Indy channel Reported

Reviewing court documents driver admitted seeing lights but didn’t recognize as a bus intolnkods right in front of her

School district moving bus stop to insure the mobile home park instead of in front of it on busy road

11 year old hit in stable condition

 

[Pea-n-Me]

News at 5 pm- WRTV the Indy channel Reported

Reviewing court documents driver admitted seeing lights but didn’t recognize as a bus intolnkods right in front of her

School district moving bus stop to insure the mobile home park instead of in front of it on busy road

11 year old hit in stable condition

What??

 

[zoo2tycoon]

What??

The police released the court documents (recordings) they used to get the arrest warrant. The driver admitted she saw the lights. She didn’t realize it was a school bus until it was too late

The speed limit on the road is 55 mph,

 

[Skippy918]

News at 5 pm- WRTV the Indy channel Reported

Reviewing court documents driver admitted seeing lights but didn’t recognize as a bus intolnkods right in front of her

School district moving bus stop to insure the mobile home park instead of in front of it on busy road

11 year old hit in stable condition

Are they moving the bus stop inside the mobile home park?

 

[Skippy918]

I’ve seen buses park diagonally across the road so kids don’t have to cross the street. A child should not have to cross a 55mph road to get to the bus either.

 

[mjkacmom]

It's not a getting to and from school situation that is the only way children get hit by cars.

There's not very many buses in the neighborhood as free busing isn't available due to our proximity to the elementary, middle and high school so parents have to pay a hefty fee but there sure are plenty of children that unfortunately don't walk on the sidewalks, don't look both directions before crossing the street, dart out into the street to get to their friends house, if they are walking on the street they are not facing the correct way, even adults do it. You could have zero busses in our particular area but the risk is still there.

When I was in elementary school someone I know his younger brother, who was riding his bike, was killed because his brother darted out in front of a vehicle. The vehicle just didn't have any time to stop.

I know, when my kids were little, I wouldn’t let them run ahead of me on the sidewalk, in parking lots, everyone had to be touching (and when I had 3 babies, I’d throw them all in a cart), they walked to school but had crossing guards, although one of my good friends mom was killed in town by a drunk driver as a crossing guard. I know many parents fear their kids being abducted, I don’t, but vehicular homiside scares me. Hearing these school bus stories makes me glad it’s one thing I don’t have to worry about.

 

[IndianaMouse]

I spoke with a friend of the 9 year old girls father this afternoon. Apparently there was an older sister ( same dad as the 9 yr old) who missed school yesterday because she had a Doctors appointment. While I felt a slight relief that this family didn't lose all of their children, my heart broke all over again for the living child. It's horrible enough for an adult to have to process this kind of pain, I can't imagine how this child is going to deal with losing all of her siblings and very likely seeing at least part of aftermath of the accident. The only good news that's came from this tragedy is that the bus stop has been moved to inside the trailer park, where it should have been to begin with.

 

[Colleen27]

I am surprised by how many people say how common it is for driver’s to blow by the buses with the lights flashing and the arm down. I have rarely seen that happen and I am a middle aged woman who is frequently out and about during bus runs. And for years stood at bus stops with my own kids. I wonder if it is more strictly enforced here? Or possibly more of an issue on rural roads (I am very much in the suburbs)? Occasionally I will see someone going a bit fast in a flashing school zone (speed limit is 15 when flashing here) but even then they slow down, just not to 15.

I think it is. I grew up in suburbia and while people occasionally grumbled about the buses stopping traffic, it just wasn't that big a deal... you were only doing 25 or 30 to begin with, and there were plenty of other ways around so you weren't stuck behind the same bus for miles. But since moving to a rural district, I see a lot more people ignoring the stop sign and/or illegally passing the bus when it is moving. They're doing 55+ so coming to a stop feels like a much bigger delay, and there is no ready work-around for several of our main country roads so if you're behind the bus, you'll be coming to a stop every so often for 10+ miles or so. For some people, impatience seems to trump safety in those circumstances.

I’ve seen buses park diagonally across the road so kids don’t have to cross the street. A child should not have to cross a 55mph road to get to the bus either.

That seems even more dangerous, since that would mean a distracted or impaired driver would hit the bus itself.

 

[mumto3girls]

I think it is. I grew up in suburbia and while people occasionally grumbled about the buses stopping traffic, it just wasn't that big a deal... you were only doing 25 or 30 to begin with, and there were plenty of other ways around so you weren't stuck behind the same bus for miles. But since moving to a rural district, I see a lot more people ignoring the stop sign and/or illegally passing the bus when it is moving. They're doing 55+ so coming to a stop feels like a much bigger delay, and there is no ready work-around for several of our main country roads so if you're behind the bus, you'll be coming to a stop every so often for 10+ miles or so.

Thank you. That actually makes sense now. In my area stopping for a bus isn’t likely to slow you down for long, but I can see where on a long, rural road with higher speeds it could add some time to your commute—not that that makes it right.

 

[Hikergirl]

Sadly another child was killed when getting on the bus, this time in Mississippi
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/child-die...ing-board-210504209--abc-news-topstories.html

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Sadly another child was killed when getting on the bus, this time in Mississippi
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/child-die...ing-board-210504209--abc-news-topstories.html

Strange; so many similarities. I wonder if there are any statistics on how often this happens.

 

[luvsJack]

I noticed in the second article it says which direction the truck was going but not the bus. Did the reports in the first incident say which way each was going? Did these vehicles go around the buses or were they coming toward the buses?

 

[RedAngie]

News at 5 pm- WRTV the Indy channel Reported

Reviewing court documents driver admitted seeing lights but didn’t recognize as a bus intolnkods right in front of her

School district moving bus stop to insure the mobile home park instead of in front of it on busy road

11 year old hit in stable condition

Oh, were there other kids from the mobile home park who weren't hit when trying to board the bus?

I noticed in the second article it says which direction the truck was going but not the bus. Did the reports in the first incident say which way each was going? Did these vehicles go around the buses or were they coming toward the buses?

In the Indiana incident, the bus was stopped in the northbound lane, the driver of the pickup truck was heading southbound. So she was heading toward the bus.

 

[Skippy918]

Strange; so many similarities. I wonder if there are any statistics on how often this happens.

I would be curious to see this as well and then find out the commonalities. Both seemed to have occurred while it was still dark. I wonder if the incidence rate gets higher and peaks right before daylight savings ends.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I would be curious to see this as well and then find out the commonalities. Both seemed to have occurred while it was still dark. I wonder if the incidence rate gets higher and peaks right before daylight savings ends.

https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=how-safe-is-the-school-bus-1-1133

During the school year, 23.5 million elementary and secondary school children ride a bus to and from school each day, according to School Transportation News. Add in extracurricular activities, and the school bus system becomes the single largest public transit system in our country.

Like any form of vehicular transportation, accidents involving school buses are inevitable. Each year, about 17,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with school buses. Children can be injured when riding the bus, getting on or off the bus, or standing near the bus.

More than 40 percent of school bus injuries are caused by vehicular accidents, according to a 2006 report by the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice (CIPP) in Columbus, Ohio. Yet, thanks to bus design, most of those injuries are considered minor, causing sprains, strains, scrapes or bruises, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Safety around the bus

About 24 percent of injuries involve getting on or off the school bus, according to the CIPP report. Although an average of seven school-age passengers are killed in school bus crashes each year, 19 are killed getting on and off the bus, according to School Transportation News.

Most of those killed are 5 to 7 years old. They are hit in the "danger zone" around the bus. This is the area 10 feet in front of the bus, 10 feet behind it and 10 feet to either side of it. The children are struck either by the school bus itself or by a passing vehicle, even though it is illegal for a vehicle to pass a bus with its red light flashing.

More school-age pedestrians are killed in the afternoon than in the morning, with 38 percent of the fatalities occurring in crashes between 3 and 4 p.m.

To better protect children, many bus companies have added a mechanical arm that forces a child to stay a certain distance from a bus. And some school districts have mounted cameras on their buses to record motorists who fail to stop for a school bus.

Parents, too, can do a lot to help prevent accidents near the school bus. They can keep an eye on children waiting for the bus or departing the bus. And they can teach them several simple rules to keep them safe. Children should stay 10 feet away from the bus, or as far away as they can, and never walk behind it. They should take five giant steps in front of the bus before crossing, so they can be seen by the driver.

Safety tips for children

The NHTSA offers these tips for children who ride a school bus:

• 
  
  
  • Try to get to your bus stop at least 5 minutes before your bus is supposed to arrive. When the bus approaches, stand at least three giant steps—6 feet—away from the curb. Line up away from the street.
  • Line up facing the school bus door—not along the side of the school bus.
  • Don't play in the street while waiting for the school bus.
  • Don't approach the bus until the bus has stopped, the door has opened, and the driver says you can get on the bus.
  • If you have to cross the street in front of the bus, always walk on the sidewalk or along the side of the street until you are at least five giant steps— 10 feet—ahead of the bus. Then you can cross.
  • Before you cross, make sure the bus driver can see you, and you can see the bus driver. Wait for a signal from the bus driver before you cross the street.
  • When you climb the steps onto the bus, hold onto the handrails.
  • When you get off the bus, make sure that your clothing or book bags don't get caught on the handrails or the doors.
  • Never walk or cross the street behind the bus.
  • If you need to walk beside a bus, always stay three giant steps—6 feet—away from the side of the bus.
  • If you drop something near the bus, tell the bus driver. Never try to pick up what you've dropped. The bus driver might not be able to see you.

Safety tips for drivers

Here are safety tips from the NHTSA for drivers who travel through areas that have school children present:

• 
  
  
  • When you back out of your driveway or leave your garage, be on the alert for children who are walking or bicycling to school.
  • When you drive through an area marked with school zones, watch out for children who are walking or bicycling to school. They may be thinking more about school than traveling there safely.
  • Whenever children may be in the area, slow down. Be on the alert for children walking in the street, particularly in neighborhoods that have no sidewalks.
  • Watch for children who may be waiting or playing near a bus stop.
  • Watch for children who may be hurrying to catch a bus, and who may dart out into the street without checking for traffic.
  • Pay attention to the flashing lights on the bus, and stop when the lights are red and the STOP arm is extended.

Safety tips for parents

The National School Transportation Association offers these tips for parents whose children ride the bus:

• 
  
  • Have at least one adult present at the bus stop to supervise the children.
  • Let your children know that you won't be upset if they don't run back to the bus to pick up a jacket they left on a seat or grab school work that they accidentally dropped near the bus.
  • Encourage your children to sit quietly on the bus and listen to any instructions given by the driver.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Such an Awful , Preventable Tragedy.

RIP little ones.

Prayers for the family, friends/community and first responders as well

 

[luvsJack]

Oh, were there other kids from the mobile home park who weren't hit when trying to board the bus?



In the Indiana incident, the bus was stopped in the northbound lane, the driver of the pickup truck was heading southbound. So she was heading toward the bus.

I was picturing it as she came up behind the bus. Coming toward the bus, it’s possible she didn’t see the kids as it was dark and for whatever reason the fact that it was a stopped school bus didn’t register to her.

I know here the buses do turn the lights on way before the stop sign comes out. They slow way down at that point. It’s more like the light turning yellow, to warn you. I have no idea what the law is but I do know most people don’t stop at that point. If she thought the bus had not put out the stop sign yet and was just coming up on the stop, she may have actually thought it was safe to pass. Doesn’t excuse it or take away her guilt, just a possible explanation.