On Nov. 1, 2018, five children and two adults waiting at a school bus stop in Tampa, Florida, were struck by a vehicle, according to police. It was the fifth traffic accident last week in the United States that involved someone being hit or killed at a bus stop.
The incident happened around 8 a.m in the suburbs of North Tampa. The 47-year-old driver, who collided with the children and adults, remained at the scene and was fully cooperative with police.
Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said, “It was not immediately clear if the driver lost control of vehicle.” The children that were struck my the moving vehicle ranged from 6 to 10 years of age. Two of the kids were in need of immediate medical attention. As for the adults, two women ages 31 and 32, were taken to a nearby hospital. None of their injuries were life threatening.
Thursday afternoon, the driver was identified as Brian Darnell West. Witness say the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, investigators have yet to determine how fast the Ford Escort was going. The driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. An ambulance racing to the crash scene collided with a vehicle at a nearby intersection and was pushed into a concrete pole, injuring two fire department paramedics inside the ambulance.
Prep senior Steve Abogunde, a frequent school bus rider, commented on the situation. “I wait for the bus almost every morning when my dad can’t take me to school,” he said. “Hearing about this [accident] raises red flags about school bus safety. I for one never had any problems waiting for the bus, nor on it. But some safety issues need to be addressed after this so it doesn’t happen again.”
Many school bus stop accidents happened just within last week. Too many accidents just within one week for these children who never thought waiting for the bus would put them in a dangerous situation.