A student in Youngstown, Ohio died yesterday after falling under the rear wheels of a school bus exiting her high school parking lot. This morning the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office confirmed the victim was Faith McCullough-Wooster, 14, a freshman at East High School and member of the volleyball team.
Grief counselors and pastors converged at the high school today to help students deal with the sudden death of their classmate.
Students on the scene told authorities that a group of friends walking away from the campus Wednesday were “playing around” just before the accident occurred about 3 p.m. One student, Essiana Williams, recounted that Faith and another girl rolled down the large hill on the same side of the street as the school, landing on the sidewalk. She said the bus stopped and then took off again but Faith, who may have become dizzy or disoriented, stumbled into the street, where she was run over by the bus’ rear wheels.
“From what I have been told, they were coming down the hillside — they might even have been rolling and playing along the hillside — and they ended up in front of one of the buses,” East High School Deputy Superintendent Douglas Hiscox told the local station.
Hiscox confirmed that the bus was transporting students at the time of the accident and that it was moved afterward to an impound lot until the investigation is complete. In addition, the bus driver, whose name has not been released, will not return to work until police finish their investigation.
