Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, in an effort to break the pattern of cars rushing by stopped school buses, are placing deputies aboard certain buses along routes where they know drivers aren’t paying attention. Two years ago, 31 citations were issued to drivers passing school buses while children were getting on or off the bus. A year later, that number increased to 48 tickets. “There are certain roads, certain areas where motorists will turn a blind eye so to speak, and disregard the stop sign that’s attached to the school bus, and what we’re trying to do is combat that,” said Lt. Shane McDaniel.
An aide on an Onamia School District school bus is accused of assaulting a 7-year-old child who was sleeping on a school bus. The accused has previously advocated for spraying sleeping children on school buses with water to wake them up. The aide allegedly yelled at the sleeping student during morning drop-off, and grabbed the student’s right arm, pulling the student’s entire body toward her despite the student being harnessed in the bus. The aide yanked the student’s hood off, exposing her face to all the young school children on the bus. The aide threatened the student she was going to pour water on her, removing a cap from a plastic water bottle and spraying water in her face. The student immediately began crying. A camera on the bus recorded the incident. The aide was charged with two counts of fifth-degree assault, disorderly conduct, and a felony count of malicious punishment of a child in connection with the incident.
As a 13-year-old boy waited for his school bus to arrive, he was surprised by an unknown gunman who jumped out of a passing car and demanded that the boy empty his pockets. He then snatched the student’s backpack and jumped back in a car with another man, speeding away. There were no witnesses or cameras in the area. A nearby resident helped the boy contact his parents. The Indianapolis Public School District (IPS) has increased patrols around the area, and the school bus will start picking up and dropping off the victim in front of his house as a precaution. “I feel bad, I wasn’t around to see it happen and try to help,” said a resident whose home is near the scene of the crime.
A 7-year-old autistic Oak Ridge student was placed on the wrong school bus on the first day of school, which might have had dire consequences if not for the kindness of a stranger. An Oak Ridge mother said that she completed the paperwork at Willow Brook Elementary School to have her son put on the Boys and Girls Club bus after school. After work, when she went to the Boys and Girls Club to pick up her son, staff asked her if she knew the woman who dropped her son off. “I was shocked, because he was supposed to ride the bus,” said the mother. The mother was able to piece together what happened. After school was out, her son was put on the school bus that would take him to their former residence despite her telling school officials he was to go to the Boys and Girls Club. She said the bus driver let her son off and departed. The boy was confused, but decided to walk to the Boys and Girls Club. While walking, he encountered a stranger who gave him a ride. The mother said that when he told her this, she asked why he got in a car with a stranger, the boy saying the driver was an older woman, so he thought it would be safe. The mother recounted that the woman came across her son walking toward the Boys and Girls Club and offered him a ride because of the heat, and the Good Samaritan even gave the boy a Popsicle because of the heat. “I was so happy he was safe. I want to buy her a bunch of Popsicles,” said the mother.
Read NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind’s take on the July 23 meeting on school bus seat belts and and an announcement scheduled for this fall from the Administration. Also check out a recap of the meeting posted earlier this week by Michelle Fisher.
