Elyas Marshall Rodriquez, 9, was killed after he crawled under his school bus on Tuesday.
The Florida Highway Patrol stated that an Orange County Public Schools bus was stopped in a roundabout of parking at an apartment building. Rodriquez had just exited the bus. FHP said the 54-year-old male bus driver, who is not identified, then began proceeding north to continue through the roundabout. An eyewitness said the school bus had stopped for another vehicle when the tragedy occurred.
Rodriquez apparently ran back to the school bus after exiting and crawled underneath it to retrieve a football he dropped. The right rear tire hit the boy, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a GoFundMe page for Rodriquez, he was diagnosed with Leukemia at 2 years old and has since been in remission. He loved football, with dreams of being in the NFL one day.
Related: Update: Florida Student on Bike Hit, Killed by School Bus
Related: Florida Students Face Different Kind of Weapon Charges on School Bus
Related: (STN Podcast E186) And the Data Says: Insights on Danger Zone Safety, Electric School Bus Funding
The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly ruled the death as accidental and caused by cranial-cerebral trauma. The school bus driver, a veteran of Orange County Public Schools, remained on scene and the crash remains under investigation.
Erin Willis, principal of Lawton Chiles Elementary School that Rodriquez attended, shared the news on Facebook. “I was notified late yesterday afternoon of the tragic death of one of our third-grade students who died after being hit by a school bus,” she wrote. “It happened while being dropped off after school. There is an ongoing Florida Highway Patrol investigation into the incident.
“I know I speak for our entire community when I express the terrible grief we are all feeling. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they go through this extremely difficult time.”
Willis added the grief counselors were on campus Wednesday and Thursday for students and staff members.
