Girl Dragged by School Bus: Should Bus Driver Be Fired?
COMMENTARY | On Wednesday an 8-year old girl was dragged 900 feet by a school bus. The driver made a routine stop to let three kids off the bus, and thinking all three were safely off the bus, he closed the doors and drove away. According to YNN, he didn't realize the doors had closed on the strap of the little girl's backpack and the bus was dragging her down the road. A student on the bus noticed and screamed for the bus driver to stop.
The bus driver slammed on the brakes, opened the door, and retrieved the little girl. She was taken to the hospital, treated for scrapes and bruises, and released the same day. The student who had stood up to alert the bus driver was thrown forward when the bus abruptly stopped and suffered a bruise above his eye.
According to 13WHAM, state police determined the incident was an accident, and the bus driver will not be charged. The 62-year-old driver has been with the Dansville School District for eight years and has a clean driving record. The driver was immediately put on administrative leave. The following day great debate erupted in the community as to whether the bus driver should be fired.
My first reaction was to think this was a freak accident. I'm a parent and I have nothing but admiration for school bus drivers. Those school buses can get loud and crazy and I can't imagine what it would be like driving the bus and paying attention to 50 kids at the same time. The bus driver admitted to not paying attention when he pulled away -- he thought the little girl was safely off the bus. I understand that.
As a parent, I would never wish harm on my child or any other child. My gut instinct is the bus driver had no intention of inflicting harm. As unfortunate as this incident is, I don't feel punitive measures would prevent such a freak accident from occurring in the future. However, popular opinion is leaning the other way.
On Thursday the majority of radio callers and Facebook commenters were calling for the bus driver to be fired. I agree that the safety of our children is the first priority, but I also believe that the driver didn't knowingly or willfully put the little girl in danger. As bad as I feel for the little girl, I honestly don't believe this will ever happen again to her or anyone else.
The bus driver slammed on the brakes, opened the door, and retrieved the little girl. She was taken to the hospital, treated for scrapes and bruises, and released the same day. The student who had stood up to alert the bus driver was thrown forward when the bus abruptly stopped and suffered a bruise above his eye.
According to 13WHAM, state police determined the incident was an accident, and the bus driver will not be charged. The 62-year-old driver has been with the Dansville School District for eight years and has a clean driving record. The driver was immediately put on administrative leave. The following day great debate erupted in the community as to whether the bus driver should be fired.
My first reaction was to think this was a freak accident. I'm a parent and I have nothing but admiration for school bus drivers. Those school buses can get loud and crazy and I can't imagine what it would be like driving the bus and paying attention to 50 kids at the same time. The bus driver admitted to not paying attention when he pulled away -- he thought the little girl was safely off the bus. I understand that.
As a parent, I would never wish harm on my child or any other child. My gut instinct is the bus driver had no intention of inflicting harm. As unfortunate as this incident is, I don't feel punitive measures would prevent such a freak accident from occurring in the future. However, popular opinion is leaning the other way.
On Thursday the majority of radio callers and Facebook commenters were calling for the bus driver to be fired. I agree that the safety of our children is the first priority, but I also believe that the driver didn't knowingly or willfully put the little girl in danger. As bad as I feel for the little girl, I honestly don't believe this will ever happen again to her or anyone else.
Published by Kay Whittenhauer
Kay Whittenhauer resides in Rochester, NY, with her husband, their teenage son, and a rambunctious dog of mysterious pedigree. She works year-round as an office administrator at a non-profit organization and... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentGood article Kay...three things come immediately to mind with this story 1."judge not lest ye be judged" 2. Let he is without sin cast the first stone. 3 There but for the grace of God go I
Perhaps the real guilty party is the manufacturer of the bus...the doors should not be able to close when there is an obstruction and the bus should not be able to move if the doors are obstructed..best wishes peter mann
From your explanation, it sounds like an accident. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt worse and that the other student alerted the bus driver.
What a dreadful thing to happen, for the little girl and the bus driver. It seems as if this was just an accident. I'm pleased to hear that the girl was not too badly injured.
Sophie
Accidents are just that! I feel bad for the girl and the driver, too. I imagine he feels horrible and wishes it never occurred. I don't think he should lose his job. I'd love to hear the outcome when you find out, though!