NationStates Jolt Archive

where the hell was the bus driver when all of this was going on? someone is getting fired....

:rolleyes:

--------------
Police: Boy, 8, releases parking brake, bus runs over girl

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/23/bus.boy.ap/index.html


Tuesday, May 23, 2006; Posted: 1:17 p.m. EDT (17:17 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- An 8-year-old boy was in custody after he sneaked onto a school bus and released its parking brake, causing it to roll forward and fatally strike a second-grader, police said Tuesday.

Officer Doris Garcia had said the boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide. But police later directed followup queries to the city's corporation counsel, which would handle the case if it goes to family court.

That office was still examining the issue Tuesday, said spokeswoman Kate Ahlers. The boy's name was being withheld because of his age.

Amber Sadiq, 8, was crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights.

"She tried to run, but the garbage can was in the way," said 12-year-old Kassandra Polanco, who saw the bus bearing down on the girl.

Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said a "concerned citizen" saw two boys -- the 8-year-old and a 10-year-old -- climbing into the bus through the emergency door, which does not lock.

The woman removed the boys from the bus, and then at some point the bus started rolling down the street, James said.

Keith Kalb, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said the bus driver, who worked for Jofaz Transportation, had finished his rounds and was on his lunch break.

Deli worker Sam Ahmad said he saw the girl under the bus and called 911. He said he and about a dozen other men tried to lift the yellow bus to free her but it was too heavy.

A neighbor, 14-year-old Christen Delacruz, described Amber as a tidy girl whose clothes were always ironed and who was always on time for school. Relatives said she was a straight-A student.

"She was sunshine," Lucy Caba said of her niece. "She was such a happy kid. No matter what, she always had a smile."

where the hell was the bus driver when all of this was going on? someone is getting fired....

Having lunch. Says right there. I don't see how he's responsible at all, he closed and reasonably secured his bus, the kids sneaked in through the emergency door that can't be locked.

To charge him.. why?

And yes, someone is getting fired :p

a similar incident happened in NYC while i was living there when a man pulling a prank on a friend released the parking break on his friends truck, truck rolled down the street and killed a 9yr old (maybe younger). man got the same charge as the 8yr old in this case.

But this time its a kid, an 8 year old, he didn't know what a parking brake was, much less the consequences of his actions, even if the girl wasn't infront of the bus. Yes it's terrible, but the kid shouldn't be charged

I thought the lowest age of criminal responsibility in the state of New York was 13 years.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I thought the lowest age of criminal responsibility in the state of New York was 13 years.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?


this is NYC, anything goes there. they charged an 8yr old with murder (poss. 1st degree) a couple years back. he killed another kid at school or something to that effect

I wonder why the ten year old wasnt charged as well and whether the concerned citizen was aboard the bus when it squished the girl.

The bus driver should have turned the wheels to the curb when he parked. So he may be partially at fault.

Im working on the assumption that the bus wasnt running and the power steering wouldnt work.

Having said that if it was a small bus the kids mightve had the strength to turn the wheels away from the curb despite the motor not running. Unlikely with a large bus.

I saw this on the late news a few days ago when it happened. Its pretty upsetting.

I see the family of the victim devastated at an outrageous loss.

I see the 8 yr old boy & his family suffering. Wether he is charged or not, this is something he and the family will live with forever.

And the driver will always be wondering if he did something differently, would this still have hapened?


No doubt some one will propose some rule to chock bus tires when parked, or something similar

If the bus rolled down the street then wouldn't it have had to have been parked on a hill? When you're on a hill aren't you supposed to turn your wheels towards the curb (If there is a curb) or away from the sidewalk (If there is no curb) seeing as this is NYC I'm assuming there are curbs. I'd say the bus driver is responsible for not parking his vehicle properly.

I'm guessing this happened just as school was getting out because why else would there be so many kids playing around where a school bus would be, but then again it said the bus driver had finished his rounds so i'm guessing that means he already dropped all the children off?

The story is very confusing and sounds fishy to me. If this happened in a residential neighborhood why were there no parents watching a 7 and 8 year old outside playing? Especially in NYC where aparently no one actually sees anything (only one concerned citizen who didn't get to the children until they were already on the bus and had released the parking brake? If I had seen 2 kids climing into a bus from the emergency door I would stop them right away because they are obviously not supposed to be doing that!). Why was a 7 year old girl in the street or crossing the street by herself if she was already home from school? If she didn't get hit by the bus she probably would have gotten hit by a car if she was playing in the street.

Someone on another message board proposed the theory that one of the boys probably sat in the driver's seat and was pretending to drive (this would explain why the wheels wern't turned in the correct direction except shouldn't the wheel lock?) I'm not sure where the emergency brake is on a bus but i'd say this is the most likely explanation. Other people said it was just a prank gone wrong well do 7 year olds even know what a prank is, that is Kindergarten, 1st grade? If it was a prank i'd say the 10 year old put him up to it and is more guilty. The 10 year old probably threatened to beat the kid up.

If the bus rolled down the street then wouldn't it have had to have been parked on a hill? When you're on a hill aren't you supposed to turn your wheels towards the curb (If there is a curb) or away from the sidewalk (If there is no curb) seeing as this is NYC I'm assuming there are curbs. I'd say the bus driver is responsible for not parking his vehicle properly.

Not necessarily, it would depend on the steepness of the road. One can reasonably expect that the parking brake will keep the bus from rolling down on a gentle incline.

Having lunch. Says right there. I don't see how he's responsible at all, he closed and reasonably secured his bus, the kids sneaked in through the emergency door that can't be locked.

The driver is definitely not at fault in this one. He did everything he could have done and this little shit went far beyond. I'm glad they're going to charge the SOB with the propper crime, despite his age. I know if he's convicted and found guilty he won't be in jail past his 26th or 21st birthday, one of those, and I hope he gets the full sentence, this little son of a bitch.

The driver is definitely not at fault in this one. He did everything he could have done and this little shit went far beyond. I'm glad they're going to charge the SOB with the propper crime, despite his age. I know if he's convicted and found guilty he won't be in jail past his 26th or 21st birthday, one of those, and I hope he gets the full sentence, this little son of a bitch.
Wait, wait, wait. Hold your horses. The kid did something wrong, but he would still have to have known and anticipated the consequences of his actions, and that he was acting with malice, before being punished that severely.

I think it was just a terrible accident and no harsh punishment should be given. Gosh! Just knowing that you killed someone like that is a terrible punishment.