Hot Topic's in the world of Transportation
Home of the Delchenot Chapter
Southside Oneonta,New York
Delchenot Chapter School Bus Safety Rodeo
Saturday May 17,2008
Sidney Central School Bus Garage
Breaking News: One Student Fatality in Early Morning KY School Bus Crash
A collision between a Pendleton County, KY school bus and a dump truck that occurred shortly after 7:00am Eastern this morning is reported to have resulted in one student fatality. Kentucky State Police confirmed that one student on the bus, a teenage boy, was killed. Ten other students, ages 5 to 16, and two adults—the bus driver and driver of the truck—were taken to area hospitals.
According to reports, it appeared that the truck hit the side of the bus as it passed, smashing down the length of the bus. Video from a local news helicopter showed a gash torn along the windows on the left side from about the middle of the bus to the rear, where the left rear corner is torn away.
Parents Secretly Record Driver & Attendant Allegedly Taunting their Son with Down syndrome—Media Posts Copy of Audio Online
First Student recently suspended a driver and attendant working with the Morton School District 201 who were responsible for transporting eight students with disabilities to a special needs school in Chicago following their receipt of a copy of an audio tape recorded by the parents of one of the students. The tape allegedly provides evidence of the pair taunting, cursing at, and making inappropriate jokes towards the family's son with Down syndrome.
The incident has similarities to the PJ Rossi case from 2006—in both cases, the parents "sensed something was wrong" and took it upon themselves to hide a tape recorder in their child's backpack to find out what was happening on the bus, because in both cases, their children have difficulty communicating and there was not a security camera on board to record what goes on inside the bus.
In this most recent case, the family hopes to push for state legislation mandating audio/video cameras on all school buses. Additionally in this case, the family has provided a copy of their audio recording to the media, and the Chicago Sun Times has posted it online. You can read more about the Bedard family's story, HERE.
