Three siblings killed getting on school bus

[Floridaman999]

I can't imagine how difficult this would be.

 

[lifesavacation]

So awful. It brings tears to my just thinking about. The driver was obviously inattentive, and she should be prosecuted whether she is a mother of 2 or not. OMG she just killed 3 children. How is she going to live with herself?

Our bus drivers have to OK the kids to cross the street even with the sign out. The kids look at the driver and he/she hand signals that they can cross. I was behind a big SUV last year and the ******* driver slowed down and then went past the bus with the signal out so I know that she saw it. Thankfully, no kids were in her path. I wrote her plate down and gave it to the bus driver, but I couldn't believe that a grown woman would do such a thing. It's best for the kids to wait until the bus driver motions for the kids to cross because there ARE selfish, inattentive, and/or drugged people on the roads. Does anyone else's school district do this? I thought it was universal.

 

[Skellingtonj]

Jeez back of the driver. 1. We don’t know what happened. 2. This person most likely did not wake up this morning and premeditate to hurt or kill a group of children this morning. Let’s keep our jails empty for this who do.

As a side note ....no driver has never been not distracted. It just takes a second. Especially those with kids. My kids distract me more than a phone. Even with eyes on the road one’s cognetive concentration is off when you have 2 kids at the same time screaming questions etc. at you. This is why hands free phone in a car is also not safe. I am though curious if she just blew through the stop sign.

My cousin is a bus driver. She posted today this is her main fear.

Back off the driver!?!? Never. She killed 3 children and severely injured another. Why defend her???

 

[Skellingtonj]

And before you come at me, Indiana state law requires all drivers going in both directions to stop for a school bus with flashing lights. She should not have been moving.

 

[AppleDumpling]

What a tragedy. It is so sad. I hope the fourth victim, the unrelated boy who was also hit, is okay and recovers completely.

It appears that this happened on a rural stretch of highway. Even without cell phones, I think many drivers become more complacent on this type of road than one with heavier traffic.

And before you come at me, Indiana state law requires all drivers going in both directions to stop for a school bus with flashing lights. She should not have been moving.

I’m guessing this is a law in most, if not all states.

 

[Skellingtonj]

What a tragedy. It is so sad. I hope the fourth victim, the unrelated boy who was also hit, is okay and recovers completely.

It appears that this happened on a rural stretch of highway. Even without cell phones, I think many drivers become more complacent on this type of road than one with heavier traffic.



I’m guessing this is a law in most, if not all states.

It probably is, but i googled just to check.

 

[HopperFan]

So awful. It brings tears to my just thinking about. The driver was obviously inattentive, and she should be prosecuted whether she is a mother of 2 or not. OMG she just killed 3 children. How is she going to live with herself?

Our bus drivers have to OK the kids to cross the street even with the sign out. The kids look at the driver and he/she hand signals that they can cross. I was behind a big SUV last year and the ******* driver slowed down and then went past the bus with the signal out so I know that she saw it. Thankfully, no kids were in her path. I wrote her plate down and gave it to the bus driver, but I couldn't believe that a grown woman would do such a thing. It's best for the kids to wait until the bus driver motions for the kids to cross because there ARE selfish, inattentive, and/or drugged people on the roads. Does anyone else's school district do this? I thought it was universal.

This is what I did not understand when I read the article. Our district absolutely will not allow kids to cross the street to a bus, not even a side street (which from photos this looked to be a road busy enough for yellow lines painted). There are either two bus routes that cover each side of road or a bus will do a u-turn at some point and come back for the kids. NO kid is to enter/cross a street to get to a bus.

 

[kdonnel]

Back off the driver!?!? Never. She killed 3 children and severely injured another. Why defend her???

Because as others have said you don't know the whole story.

Too many times people jump into a situation without all the facts and just make things worse.

For example on a recent flight I was on a woman was traveling with her cat. The person seated next to her was pitching a fit with the flight attendant that they did not want to sit next to someone inconsiderate enough to fly with a cat. I ended up swapping seats with the angry person so they didn't have to sit next to the "crazy cat lady" as they put it. I talked to the woman with the cat who was at this point in tears. She was traveling to her sisters to drop off her cat before heading to the Mayo Clinic for an experimental treatment that might prolong her life a few months.

You don't know the whole story.

Let the people assigned to this woman's jury be the ones who judge her.

You are not her God, you are not on her jury.

 

[luvsJack]

When I was in school and rode the bus, they had bus monitors. Usually high school kids that would use a flag to guide the little kids across. Do they not have these anymore?

I do remember people trying to go past the bus way back then. No cell phones. Just impatient, inconsiderate people.

So very sad. Will be praying for this family. I can’t imagine what they are going through.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

OP here from Indiana
It is state law that you stop for school bus unless there is a divided highway (grass median or concert median) is how I believe the news stated.

One station stated the girl was holding her brothers hands and tried to shield them. Uncle interviewed and said mom didn’t know which child to go to when all laying in the street.

There is no defense for the driver - here or is dark at 730am. Obviously not a medical emergency or episode for her.

 

[ronandannette]

So awful. It brings tears to my just thinking about. The driver was obviously inattentive, and she should be prosecuted whether she is a mother of 2 or not. OMG she just killed 3 children. How is she going to live with herself?

Our bus drivers have to OK the kids to cross the street even with the sign out. The kids look at the driver and he/she hand signals that they can cross. I was behind a big SUV last year and the ******* driver slowed down and then went past the bus with the signal out so I know that she saw it. Thankfully, no kids were in her path. I wrote her plate down and gave it to the bus driver, but I couldn't believe that a grown woman would do such a thing. It's best for the kids to wait until the bus driver motions for the kids to cross because there ARE selfish, inattentive, and/or drugged people on the roads. Does anyone else's school district do this? I thought it was universal.

Hopefully by pleading guilty and sparing the family the heartbreak and the state the public expense of a trial.

Because as others have said you don't know the whole story.

Too many times people jump into a situation without all the facts and just make things worse.

For example on a recent flight I was on a woman was traveling with her cat. The person seated next to her was pitching a fit with the flight attendant that they did not want to sit next to someone inconsiderate enough to fly with a cat. I ended up swapping seats with the angry person so they didn't have to sit next to the "crazy cat lady" as they put it. I talked to the woman with the cat who was at this point in tears. She was traveling to her sisters to drop off her cat before heading to the Mayo Clinic for an experimental treatment that might prolong her life a few months.

You don't know the whole story.

Let the people assigned to this woman's jury be the ones who judge her.

You are not her God, you are not on her jury.

Not sure how your story about the lady with the cat relates to this situation in any way. One is a case of an impatient traveler behaving ungraciously to a person who unfortunately was already bearing an emotional burden. The other is a case where inattention, whatever the reason, senselessly ended the lives of 3 children and maimed another. I'd be interested to hear any possible scenario you could theorize that would come close to defending what's happened. Unless there was a mechanical failure or extreme medical incident, (and I've seen neither suggested) it really doesn't matter where she was going or what state of mind she might have been in. Doesn't matter at all.

 

[Klayfish]

Because she was not supposed to be moving!! The lights were on the bus and the arm was out. She was supposed to stop. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever

That's a very easy knee jerk reaction...an a common one. Let me ask you this...have you ever made a mistake behind the wheel? Ever? Had a single moment of inattention? Ever? If you're being honest, the answer is yes. You just happened to be lucky it didn't cost someone their life, just like most of us. If in fact this was innattention, she deserves to be charged, I agree. But the blind anger....as horribly sad as this situation is...is misguided IMO. Just hope next time you accidentally turn left in front of someone or look down for a second it doesn't end in tragedy.

It is not at all condoning distracted driving. As many here know, I am in auto insurance claims for a living. I have seen the horrific results of this type of situation from all sides. None of them are pretty.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is what I did not understand when I read the article. Our district absolutely will not allow kids to cross the street to a bus, not even a side street (which from photos this looked to be a road busy enough for yellow lines painted). There are either two bus routes that cover each side of road or a bus will do a u-turn at some point and come back for the kids. NO kid is to enter/cross a street to get to a bus.

Yeah that wasn't the case at least when I was growing up. You just had specified bus stops. How you got to those was up to you (walking, parent dropping you off, etc).

To get to my bus stop for instance I had to cross on my own street to get to the sidewalk---sidewalk was only on one side of the street. There was a kid who lived right across the street from the bus stop and so he had to cross the street to get to it.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

This is what I did not understand when I read the article. Our district absolutely will not allow kids to cross the street to a bus, not even a side street (which from photos this looked to be a road busy enough for yellow lines painted). There are either two bus routes that cover each side of road or a bus will do a u-turn at some point and come back for the kids. NO kid is to enter/cross a street to get to a bus.

The road is a rural road- most rural roads have double yellow lines. This was not a busy road

 

[DisLiss]

That's a very easy knee jerk reaction...an a common one. Let me ask you this...have you ever made a mistake behind the wheel? Ever? Had a single moment of inattention? Ever? If you're being honest, the answer is yes. You just happened to be lucky it didn't cost someone their life, just like most of us.

I don't know how things work in the state where this occurred, but here, it would typically take more than a moment of inattention to pass a stopped bus. They have flashing lights on the bus that are on at all times, so you notice them from quite a distance. Then they put on additional lights as they are about to stop to capture attention of vehicles closest to them to warn them. Then they stop. Then they put out the stop sign. Then they put out the arm. And only after all of that do they open the door for the children.

Now, a blind turn or a hill could take away that advance warning, BUT there's still the fact that when driving at typical school bus movement times, drivers ought to be more cautious simply because of the increased chance of coming across a bus.

 

[sam_gordon]

One thing I wonder, based on the time of the accident (some time before 7:30a) is whether the sun was just cresting the horizon, causing the driver to not be able to see the bus. No, I don't know this is what happened, but it is POSSIBLE. And I'd rather think the best of people (until proven different).

They have flashing lights on the bus that are on at all times, so you notice them from quite a distance.

The busses here have a strobe light on top. Is that what you're referring to?

 

[Hikergirl]

That's a very easy knee jerk reaction...an a common one. Let me ask you this...have you ever made a mistake behind the wheel? Ever? Had a single moment of inattention? Ever? If you're being honest, the answer is yes. You just happened to be lucky it didn't cost someone their life, just like most of us. If in fact this was innattention, she deserves to be charged, I agree. But the blind anger....as horribly sad as this situation is...is misguided IMO. Just hope next time you accidentally turn left in front of someone or look down for a second it doesn't end in tragedy.

It is not at all condoning distracted driving. As many here know, I am in auto insurance claims for a living. I have seen the horrific results of this type of situation from all sides. None of them are pretty.

No the anger is not misguided, not one little tiny bit of it. The woman plowed down 4 children and killed 3 of them because she wasn't paying attention or she didn't give a crap. Even on the off chance she was traveling to an experimental treatment at the Mayo Clinic to prolong her own life she has a responsibility behind the wheel. We all do, and when we don't take that responsibility seriously it can result in people dying. And any anger towards that driver (even if it is us) is totally justified. You seem to be looking for a defense of why she did it, I'd call that pretty misguided.

 

[kdonnel]

Hopefully by pleading guilty and sparing the family the heartbreak and the state the public expense of a trial.

Not sure how your story about the lady with the cat relates to this situation in any way. One is a case of an impatient traveler behaving ungraciously to a person who unfortunately was already bearing an emotional burden. The other is a case where inattention, whatever the reason, senselessly ended the lives of 3 children and maimed another. I'd be interested to hear any possible scenario you could theorize that would come close to defending what's happened. Unless there was a mechanical failure or extreme medical incident, (and I've seen neither suggested) it really doesn't matter where she was going or what state of mind she might have been in. Doesn't matter at all.

Until you know the facts you are just assuming and judging. My belief is that unless you are someone’s God or sitting on a jury, you have no business passing judgement.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

One thing I wonder, based on the time of the accident (some time before 7:30a) is whether the sun was just cresting the horizon, causing the driver to not be able to see the bus. No, I don't know this is what happened, but it is POSSIBLE. And I'd rather think the best of people (until proven different).


The busses here have a strobe light on top. Is that what you're referring to?

I’m 30 minutes south of where this happened. Sunrise 8:12am. It is still dark at 730 am.

 

[ronandannette]

Until you know the facts you are just assuming and judging. My belief is that unless you are someone’s God or sitting on a jury, you have no business passing judgement.

So you're suggesting there may be some margin for error that they have the wrong woman in custody or that there are some possible circumstances that would mitigate her responsibility?