In recent weeks, four students lost their lives in school transportation–related accidents, three of them as pedestrians en route to their bus stops. Two high school students were killed within the first two weeks of the new year as they crossed busy roads to catch their school buses in the early morning.
Both accidents occurred at approximately 7 a.m., which was sunrise in the South but still pitch dark in the most northern states. Dayton Edwards, 14, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana was hit by an out-of-control vehicle on Jan. 7 and passed away Jan. 9. Exactly one week later, a vehicle struck Lucas Vansprange, 15, as he ran toward his approaching school bus in Forest Hills, Michigan.
“It is with deep sadness that I communicate to you that Lucas Vansprange, ninth grader at Central High School has passed away. Lucas was struck by a vehicle on Cascade Road this morning around 7:00 a.m.,” Forest Hills administrators said in a Jan. 16 release sent to district parents.
According to police, the boy’s stepfather was driving eastbound when he stopped in the left-turn lane and dropped the teen across the street from his bus stop. Vansprange began to cross two lanes of traffic behind his stepfather’s vehicle when a westbound car ran him down. The driver of the Audi was identified as James McCarty, 66, of Cascade Township. Investigators stated that McCarty did not see the boy. No charges had been filed at this report.
Police also said a school bus was approaching the bus stop when the crash occurred so they are looking into whether the bus had its flashing lights on, which would have signaled traffic to stop.
In Louisiana, charges had yet to be filed against the motorist whose vehicle lost control and hit Edwards, but the accident remains under investigation. The Baton Rouge Police Department said there was a mechanical issue with the car that struck the middle schooler, which caused it to lose control.
In Clear Brook, Virginia, police were still searching for a hit-and-run suspect who ended the life of Tristan Long, 15, on Dec. 18. The James Wood High School sophomore was found dead in the road about a block from his residence. Long’s mother told authorities he had missed his regular bus, so she believes he was walking or running to catch a second bus when a car hit him from behind.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller stated that police had worked through the weekend trying to locate a 2000 to 2010 model Volkswagen Beetle with damage to its front left side and possibly the driver’s side, all to no avail.
The fourth victim is student Cassidy Sandstrom, 17, of Larimore, North Dakota, who was killed along with her bus driver when a freight train slammed into their stopped school bus on Jan. 5. The North Dakota Highway Police told STN the bus driver tried to stop at the railroad crossing, but the bus skidded on the gravel and came to rest on the train tracks. This investigation was ongoing as well.
