Car barely misses student in crash between a car and stopped school bus

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A Nicholas County school bus was hit just after unloading a student on Friday afternoon.

Surveillance video shows the child got off the bus, then seconds later a car smashes into the front side of the bus narrowing, missing the child by just a few feet.

Personnel Director Melissa Adkins said the bus driver saw the car was not stopping and tried to warn the girl.

“The vehicle was driving towards the bus hit the brakes in an attempt to stop and then lost control and hit the bus,” said Adkins. “He was telling the student to get back, get back. The student was standing at the passenger front wheel, and the car struck the driver’s front wheel.”

Nicholas County School officials say the student suffered minor injuries due to the debris flying nearby.

West Virginia law requires drivers to stop for stopped school buses.

Adkins said the bus driver followed the correct protocol, letting drivers know children would be getting off the bus.

“Our drivers report to me that this happens daily As a matter of fact, just moments before this incident, the same bus stopped to let off another student and was passed illegally from behind by another vehicle,” said Adkins.

Adkins hopes drivers will think twice about their choices to pass a stopped school bus.

Adkins says while buses are replaceable, students are not.

“Maybe they think they have time to get around a vehicle before the student exits the bus those few seconds you think you are saving yourself by passing a stopped school bus is not worth a student’s life,” said Adkins.

School officials also say the driver in the incident stayed on the scene during the accident. There were no other students on the bus when the incident occurred as the student exiting the bus was the last dropoff.

The incident remains under investigation by the Nicholas County Sheriff’s office.

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