American Traffic Solutions and Marietta City Schools recognized the heroic actions of a Georgia school bus driver who protected students from a gunman who ran past the bus as he fired about a dozen shots at a nearby house before fleeing the scene.
As gunfire erupted, the driver alerted two children who had just departed the bus to return immediately for safety. The bus driver then secured the doors and called 911. No one was harmed in the shooting.
“This driver’s protective and selfless actions in that dangerous moment are nothing short of heroic,” said Liz Caracciolo, safety general manager of ATS. “ATS is incredibly proud to be associated with such men and women.”
The shooting was caught on video by an exterior school bus stop-arm safety camera supplied to Marietta City Schools by ATS. Authorities are using the video in their investigation.
“This driver kept innocent children out of harm’s way,” said Mark Lindstrom, transportation director for Marietta City Schools. “She is a hero to all of us, and the entire community is grateful for her bravery.”
Marietta Police are circulating an image taken from the security footage, asking the public for their help in identifying the gunman.
An 11-year old girl is recovering from injuries after being hit by a drunk driver while waiting at a North Carolina bus stop. The child suffered multiple serious injuries and was unconscious when emergency responders arrived.
The girl’s grandmother said another relative chased after the car when it drove away, helping lead deputies to it.
NC State Highway Patrol reported that Nicholas Alan Williams, 28, is being held at the Guilford County Detention Center. Williams was allegedly impaired. He took a breathalyzer test at 7:47 a.m. and was found to carry a .21 blood alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit.
The girl’s grandmother said drivers have lost control while speeding around a nearby curve and that her house has been hit by a car before. The accident is being investigated as a hit-and-run.
Brenda Young, a Polk County School District employee, is accused of giving false information to district management following the death of Florida high school student Kalen Kirk. Kirk was hit and killed by a driver as he ran across Clubhouse Road to get to his bus stop.
Young expected to fight for her job. Her job duties include managing bus routes and student bus assignments in her designated district, which included a segment of Clubhouse Road.
District officials claim during meetings the day of the accident, Young was dishonest and told supervisors Kirk was assigned to a bus that did not require him to cross Clubhouse Road. Kirk’s bus assignment was changed in the computer system. The school district claims Young made changes to the bus route in the computer system to back up her claims.
According to school records, Young admitted to changing the bus routes the day of the crash, but claimed she did this to create a new, safer bus stop for students living in Summerland Hills, not to cover anything up.
Students in Wooster, Ohio, claimed that their First Amendment right are being violated. “We have been receiving threats of being removed or suspended from the bus for talking about politics,” said student Donovan Arndt.
District leaders argued the story is more complex and said that hate speech is not tolerated anywhere in the school district. Video shows a school bus driver telling the students political talk is unacceptable on the bus.
“We have asked everyone on the bus not to talk about the politics while we are driving the bus because it has problems with other students on the bus,” said the bus driver. “People voted for this person, people voted for that person. You become so loud that people talk, they hurt other people’s feelings about it then they get upset.”
According to the superintendent students were engaging in aggressive behavior involving hate speech prior to the video being taken.
“There is name calling on that bus,” said Superintendent Michael Tefs. “Personal attacks, intimidation, really loud that was the biggest concern for the driver. Really loud boisterous behavior.”
