North Carolina School Bus Driver Charged with Reckless Driving After Crashing Bus
This past Monday, a school bus carrying students who attend Wendell Middle School was involved in a collision. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office reported that the accident occurred around 7:45 a.m. when the bus driver swerved out of the way to avoid hitting a car that was driving in the middle lane on Buffaloe Road. The bus was traveling at about 45 mph at the time of the crash. WRAL.com reported that one of the students was picked up by his parent and the other five were taken to WakeMed where they were checked out, however, no serious injuries were reported. The bus driver was also transported to the hospital as well.
Officials did end up charging the bus driver, Walter Holden of Spring Hope, with reckless driving and failure to wear a seatbelt, however, they did not state whether the other driver will be charged also.
North Carolina Student on Washington D.C. Field Trip Dies
Last Friday, Hunter Brown,14, who was a student at Central Wilkes Middle School, was on an 8th-grade field trip in Washington D.C. when he was hit by a tour bus. He was pinned by the bus for nearly 10 minutes until first responders could free him. He spent almost a week at the D.C. Children’s Hospital but 13 News Now recently reported that he passed away on Thursday. The news source has stated that the U.S. Park Police Traffic Safety and Criminal Investigations Branch are still investigating the bus accident, yet charges have not yet been filed.
How can you help protect your child from sustaining an injury while on a field trip?
It’s a tragedy to lose a child, whether it is to a bus collision or an auto accident which is why parents must take all precautionary measures to ensure their kids are staying safe when out of their sight. Some things you want to remind your kids, whether they are younger or a bit older is that they always have to be careful when crossing the street or while around moving vehicles.
Some other field trip safety tips include:
- Reviewing with your kids or teens your expectations along with those of the school. It can never hurt to reiterate the rules.
- Remind your kids to only cross the street when it is safe to do so. If they are going to be traveling out of the state and you are unable to chaperone, be sure you review with them roadway safety rules and how to properly cross the street. Sometimes, kids who travel away from a familiar place are so excited that they become distracted and forget to practice safety.
- Inform your kids to stay with their group and not to run off to any unknown places or in a different direction other than the one they should be going in.
- Remind kids that they must be careful when getting on and off the bus.
Now, if your child was the unfortunate victim of a recent bus accident and you are looking for a reliable bus crash attorney in Raleigh, NC to speak with, USAttorneys.com can help you. We connect individuals such as yourself with some of the top performing bus accident lawyers in Raleigh so that you can become informed on what your rights are and how you should handle this unfortunate incident.