Several students were left shaken after a young girl was nearly struck by a vehicle near a school bus stop Tuesday morning, according to an e-mail sent out by Liverpool Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns.
According to the e-mail, a Morgan Road Elementary student was crossing Huntingcreek Lane in the Cherrington East subdivision off Morgan Road with three other girls to board her bus. Johns said the driver of the Jeep didn’t break the law by passing the bus, but was turning in front of the bus at the intersection of Old Meadow Road and Huntingcreek.
“She rushed up and pulled into the intersection, and she didn’t realize the four girls were in the intersection crossing to the bus,” he said. “One of the older girls grabbed the girl in front, the 7-year-old, and pulled her back in time. She put her hands up and bounded off the side of the Jeep.”
The Jeep’s driver stopped and asked if the girls were okay, then left the scene upon learning that the children were unharmed. A number of students thought she had been injured and had to be calmed down before the bus could continue on its route. The district is working with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department to identify the motorist. The bus driver and a neighbor provided a description of the vehicle to deputies.
“It’s in the gray area,” Johns said. “She didn’t violate the law by crossing in front of a parked school bus, though she certainly was reckless in nearly hitting the girls. It was also not a hit and run, because she didn’t hit them with the front of the car.”
Johns said he didn’t think any charges would be filed, but authorities still wanted to identify the driver of the Jeep.
“I’d certainly like to know who it was,” he said. “I’m sure the little girl’s mother would like to know who it was.”
TUESDAY:Several students were left shaken after a young girl was nearly struck by a vehicle that failed to obey a school bus’s stop lights Tuesday morning, according to an e-mail sent out by Liverpool Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns.
According to the e-mail, a Morgan Road Elementary student was crossing Huntingcreek Lane in the Cherrington East subdivision off Morgan Road with three other girls to board her bus. The bus had its red lights flashing; according to state law, a motorist may not pass a bus when its red lights are flashing.
“The motorist obviously did not see the four little girls crossing the street,” Johns said in the e-mail. “Fortunately, one of the older girls saw the vehicle and pulled a younger girl back so that the little girl was able to use her hands to ‘bounce off’ the vehicle.”
The girl was unharmed, but a number of students thought she had been injured and had to be calmed down before the bus could continue on its route.
The driver of the vehicle, meanwhile, left the scene. The district is working with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department to identify the motorist.
