  
| 
| ||||||||||||
Is your child safe getting off the school bus?By Greg Hunter and Kim Skeen  Aaron Woodson, 6, was killed by an illegally passing truck after exiting his school bus. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSUFFOLK COUNTY, New York (CNN) -- When Gloria Woodson of St. Louis, Missouri, sent her 6-year-old son, Aaron, off to school on February 10, she didn't know it was the last time she'd see him alive. That afternoon, around the time Aaron would be coming home from school, Gloria got word there had been an accident and she rushed to the scene. Woodson says she knew something terrible had happened. "I'm still thinking that's somebody else's child lying on the ground, not knowing it was mine." Aaron had just stepped off his school bus and was crossing the street heading for home, when police say a truck drove around the bus, ignored the school bus stop sign, and hit the first-grader. The impact knocked Aaron into the air as his classmates watched in horror. He was pronounced dead at the scene. In all 50 states, the law requires that drivers stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off children. But officials say too often the drivers ignore the law, sometimes with tragic consequences. A study by the Kansas State Department of Education found that since 1970, more than 1,100 children have been killed boarding or exiting their school bus. Most are killed in accidents involving the bus they're on or other school buses. But more than 400 were killed in accidents involving other vehicles, including eight in the 2004-2005 school year. Derek Graham, president-elect of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, thinks that with more traffic and so many driving distractions, many people aren't paying attention or are hurrying so much they don't heed flashing warning lights. CNN rode along with Suffolk County, New York, police on a routine run to catch violators. In one day, we saw the officer write tickets citing three people who failed to stop for the school bus when the stop arm was out and the lights were flashing. Two of the motorists said they did not see the stopped school bus when they drove by. Peter Manella, executive director of the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, says what we saw wasn't unusual. His group estimates that people pass school buses stopping to drop off or pick up kids 50,000 times a day in New York State alone. Around the country, school districts are using technology to try to catch drivers running the stop signs. In Iowa, a camera mounted on a bus caught 40 drivers in one month. The digital images can be retrieved on a computer and mailed to police. School bus officials in North Carolina are trying to make buses more noticeable with new lights and signs. But some say technology isn't enough and tougher laws are needed to change driver behavior. North Carolina lawmaker Dale Folwell and his wife, Synthia, lost their son, Dalton, in 1999. The 7-year-old was hit in front of their home as he tried to board his bus. The woman who illegally passed the bus did not spend any time in jail. She was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In response to that sentence, Folwell sponsored a state law that went into effect in late 2005 that makes it a felony to injure a child by illegally passing a school bus. Folwell says "people lose children for lots of reasons, unfortunately, and this doesn't have to be one of them." Police say the driver of the truck that killed Aaron Woodson has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. His attorney says it was an accident and his client is not criminally responsible. The schoolmates who witnessed Aaron's death say they still have nightmares, and a shrine marks the place where Aaron died. It's a roadside reminder of the potentially deadly consequences of not stopping for a school bus. 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
