Tragic accident involving a 3rd gen today

WOW, this is horrible!! I cannot even comprehend what the parents are going through. Many lives were ruined today and many will never be the same. I am not a praying or religious man, but my thoughts are with the family.

 

Indiana State Police are releasing very little information at this point. Due to the nature of the accident, I would expect a Coroners inquest before much is made public. Indiana often handles similar situations that way.
One of the State Troopers investigating was assigned to the State Police Post near where I used to live. I'd had the opportunity to get to know him years ago. He was the type of person who didn't let much bother him. He was in tears when a TV camera caught him walking to his car. We need to remember the first responders. They have to deal with the aftermath of seeing what they saw.

 

No excuses for something like this but the driver was a teacher/activity coordinator or something for children and Im sure will live with it the rest if her life. The report I read mentioned the brakes werent used before impact so I believe it was a distracted driver scenario. Those parents lost 3 kids.. My lord.

 

There lives will never be the same as well. Many and most likely all involved will never "unsee" this. Unfortunately I have seen some nasty stuff in the field that I will never "unsee." We have a good support team and these responders will get some counseling. As a officer on my little dept, we always emphasize not to hide or push down your feeling or issues. Bring them forward, sometimes we all need a shoulder or a sounding board or professional help. Nothing to be a shamed of, part of job.

 

The exact words from one officer was, " I've been a Trooper for 20 years and never saw anything so horrific. 20 years from now I'll still see it like it had just happened".

 

Once Alyssa's block mates find out what she is in for, she wont likely last that long.

Child killers get shanked.

 

THIS

 

Lol. You get the job, we’ll see what kinda clout you got when it’s time to do the dirty.

 

School bus stop on a highway? Did I read that correctly? Seems like a terrible idea.

 

Have you ever been in Northern Indiana? 90% of the roads in rural Indiana are "state highways"....and miles between houses in places. They HAVE to stop on the highway.

 

I suppose it probably happens here in rural BC too.

 

IMO a school bus stop should not be set up where children have to cross the road to get to the bus.
I think the school corp is going to have their hands held to the fire here.

I bet the kids darted out into the road. Its not OK and should not have happened but the situation never shoukd have been allowed to happen because kids under a certain age should not be expected to cross a high speed country road to get on their bus.

I think the bigger crime was having the kids at risk in the first place.

Can’t imagine how the family feels.

 

One....It's NOT a "major highway"....It's more like a county road....Like the roads all over rural Northern Indiana. Nearly every paved road in that part of the state is designated as a "state highway" or a "county highway". The only way the bus could have stopped any place EXCEPT where it did and NOT been on this road would have meant stopping miles away from the childrens home. Houses can be miles apart in that area. Stopping on the side where the house is would effectively double the distance, double the time a bus would need to spend on a route, effectively doubling their exposure to traffic accidents.

Indiana law (and I'd assume many other states) you are REQUIRED to stop at least 50 yards short of ANY school bus with flashing lights. EVERYONE knows this if they have a drivers license. It's part of the drivers test in Indiana. Lights were flashing....

School corp isn't at fault this time....This one is on the driver of the pick up truck. School corp did ALL they can be reasonably expected to do.

Facts speak for themselves....The simple FACT that she was going full speed and made no effort to stop (or even slow up) indicates she just didn't see the bus. As in, wasn't LOOKING at the road. That's not the school boards fault.

I do place SOME responsibility for a couple 6 year olds and a 9 year old crossing ANY street on the parents, but they've been sufficiently punished already.

 

I edited my post. I thought that stretch was 4 lanes across. Its 2.

Most people know to stop in a 2 lane situation but not a 4. But it wasn’t a 4

I still think kids of a certain age should not be crossing a road to get to a bus. Period.
Its a high speed county road. Too much room for error when you are talking kids who don’t have the maturity level to look both ways before crossing (kids assume the red flashing stop lights protect them from harm)

 

On a 4 lane the school bus has to stop on the side of the door so the kids don't have to cross the highway.

 

Agreed on the part where kids that age SHOULD have AT LEAST been accompanied by an adult.

Most of the roads in that area are 2 lane, but they see 55 to 60 mph traffic. (or higher)

The wide open stretches of road in flat rural areas such as this....vehicles cover a long distance in a short time. Time to react (on the part of pedestrians) is very short. Had that been MY 6 year old's...I would have been with them at minimum.

I'm interested in knowing if the girl driving the Tacoma was familiar with that stretch of road. Familiarity creates complacency. However, if she regularly travels that road, she should know to be watching for school busses.

 

Tragic. Had a girl do.something like this on my road back home. Was going 90mph and hit a kid who had actually pulled over to talk on his cellphone. Cut his car clean in half and killed him instantly. People speed down these little "highways" everywhere. Really sad most don't realize the possoble reprocussions of their actions. She is scum. Clear and simple.

 

In total agreeance there.

 

In no way do I condone the drivers actions. In no way do I defend what she did. But....regardless of the level of irresponsibility, it was an accident. That doesn't absolve her of guilt, but she's NOT a serial killer. She will be held accountable for her actions. And then she has to live with the guilt. This could literally happen to ANYONE'S son or daughter in a moment of carelessness. Unfortunately, this is life....

 

As I understand it, this bus stop has been of concern for a while. The parents have been asking for 2 years to have the stop moved into their subdivision. Additionally, there is a curve in the road both before and after the bus stop location. The driver was charged, but if telephone records show that she was not on here phone, you never know how this one may go in the courts.