15 yr old girl ran over by school bus

[ilovepinkhearts]

A 15-year-old girl was struck and killed Wednesday after crossing in front of her school bus only seconds after she was dropped off near her home in northeast Harris County. The teenager, who attended the MacArthur Ninth Grade School — part of the Aldine Independent School District — was let off the bus about 3 p.m. along the 2900 block of Shady Lane, officials said.
“She immediately got off the bus, turned and walked across the path of the school bus,” said Lt. D.A. Coleman, with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Samantha Lopez, 15, was among 45 to 50 Aldine ISD students inside the bus. As it again lurched forward, Lopez — and others students — noticed a bumping sound.
“Everybody started joking around, saying that she (the driver) had run over another dog,” Lopez said. “Somebody looked back and saw that it was a girl. Everybody started screaming.”
Witnesses saw the teenager frantically grabbing onto the front bumper of the bus. She managed to hold on for a few feet as the driver continued along her route, officials said.
“After some time, she couldn’t hold on any more (and) she let go,” Coleman said. “She was drug up under the bus.”
Coleman said almost all of the students on the bus ran away after the incident.
“We were able to interview one student,” he said. “Aldine ISD is working with us on identifying those students who were on the bus so we can make contact with them.”
The bus driver will undergo drug and alcohol testing, but there was no indication at the scene that she was intoxicated or otherwise impaired, Coleman said.
“She is visibly shaken (but) we are able to talk to her,” Coleman said.
Deputies later Wednesday hadn’t determined why the driver failed to spot the teenager. Answering that crucial question is a major part of the ongoing investigation, Coleman said.
Deputies also will check whether the driver’s seat was properly adjusted for her height, officials said.
Neighbor Maria Resendez said her daughter got off at the same stop.
“She’s in there crying,” Resendez said. “She said she’ll never get on that bus again.”
Several grieving students gathered near the crime scene tape, comforting each other. They could see their friend’s body covered with a sheet.
“She was a very happy person. She always had a smile and she was never down,” Lopez said.
Analeydi Maldonado, 17, knew the teenager for about three years.
“She was a real nice girl. She liked to have fun (and) she was an athletic girl,” Maldonado said.
School district spokesman Mike Keeney said the girl was a good student and very popular. She was involved in basketball, volleyball and dance, Keeney said.
In light of the tragedy, the school has received approval from the state to cancel today’s testing at the campus, Keeney said.
Grief counselors will be on campus today to help students deal with the loss.
“It’s a very sad day for our district and, of course, the family,” Keeney said.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/6399489.html

[goodmornin]

WTF?? Why did she keep driving????

Even if it was a dog, you wouldn't just keep driving right?? It was a residential street!

[HauteMama]

Oh, how horrible. My hear goes out to the family. I thought that the driver needed to SEE the student on the other side of the bus if they had to cross the street, which is why traffic must stop when a bus stops.

[Veelyn]

How did the driver run her over in the first place? Sounds weird. RIP to the girl.

[Jahpson]

that driver needs to be fired. end of stories. Pity party out the window.

How sad

[ilovepinkhearts]

we saw the story on the news, and it stated that this wasn't the first person that she has hit...that isn't mentioned in the story above, but if that is the case...OMG WTH was she doing driving another bus??

and then i read somewhere else that a bus driver rear ended a car because he was too busy texting on his phone...

[BagAngel]

This is sad & shocking!

[Linmo925]

UGH I saw this on our news here. I wonder what happened, the driver has to have problems. Maybe a vision test was overlooked, she may not have initially appeared intoxicated but was, maybe she was on some sort of medication, SOMETHING. You don't just run over someone and not notice it, right??? I hate it when things like this happen in my city. That poor sweet young girl.

[_bebee]

there is definitely something wrong with that driver omg. this is soo sad, poor girl

[canada's]

this is so sad and the driver sounds like an idiot considering the girl was ONLY at the front of the bus and the driver apparently put the bus into motion. i feel so bad for her family. this happened in the area i grew up in.

[Sternchen]

Oh my goodness gracious!

[carousel eyes]

Buses are supposed to have crossing arms, but apparently buses aren't employing the use of them or they don't even have them anymore!

[Cedes]

She had hit another person before?? I find it disturbing that the kids were joking that she had hit another dog.. that sounds like a testament to her driving skills.

That's just completely horrifying. I feel so sorry for the girl's family.

[sweetdreamer16]

omg how sad and disturbing!!!

[Laurie8504]

Wouldn't the girl be going the same way every day? The bus driver should have known where she was going, and even if she didn't she should have been watching as students are supposed to cross in front of the bus. How awful.