A bus transporting elementary school students home in Louisville was involved in a baffling incident late in the afternoon of Friday, May 15, 2015. The bus had stopped to drop off a little girl at her babysitter’s place of residence when the driver shut the exit doors before the girl had fully deboarded from the bus, the doors closing around the young lady’s backpack, leaving her trapped in the bus doorway, legs dangling onto the street.
The young girl, who attended nearby Jefferson County Public Schools’ Wilkerson Elementary School, was pulled alongside the bus, flailing helplessly as the driver obliviously continued to drive almost a quarter of a mile up the roadway. Onlookers attempted to alert the driver to the little girl hanging out of the bus doors by her backpack, running up the road and shouting, but to no avail. One man sped up alongside the bus, attempting to get the bus driver’s attention after seeing the stuck girl being dragged along the roadway.
Witnesses to the incident expressed awe and confusion at how a bus driver could remain so totally unaware of a child trapped in her bus’ doorway mere feet from where she sat while driving the bus. The child’s babysitter was astounded by the incident, having watched her young charge become trapped and whisked up the road. The babysitter stated that the bus operator ought to have made certain the child was off the bus and up the walkway prior to closing the bus doors and putting the bus into motion.
A person who lives near the scene of the incident caught footage of the bizarre mishap via home surveillance camera. A red sports car zoomed alongside and then in front of the bus to cut it off in traffic—a move that onlookers at first feared might lead to tragedy, but ultimately was what caused the bus driver to snap back to reality and stop her vehicle. The bus finally stopped near the intersection of Johnsontown Road and Morning Star Way.
The girl was transported immediately to nearby Kosair Children’s Hospital with minor wounds. She was shaken but not crying at the time of the incident, asking for her mother. Jefferson County Public Schools’ officials are investigating the matter, and it is not yet known whether charges may be filed against the school bus driver at this time.