TBO.com > News > Latest News Reports
- Send Your Wishes To The New Administration
- Moffitt Among Quarterfinalists For Lott Award
- Two Women Thrown From Boat When It Hits I-75 Bridge
- Judge Imposes Stay On Lethal Injections
- Poll: More Coastal Residents Would Not Evacuate For Hurricane
- Robbers In Ninja Garb Strike Hampton Inn
- Deputy Is Accused Of Domestic Battery
- 2 Men Burst Into Home, Steal More Than $7,000
- Temple Terrace Man Wounded In Shooting
- Polk Deputies Charge 17 Men After Weekend Cockfight
- Baby Dropped Off At Fire Station
- Jury Awards $21.1 Million In Wrongful Birth Case
- Deputies Investigate Bank Robbery
- Grandpa Robbed; Grandson Charged
- Composite Sketch Of Armed Carjacker Released
LUTZ - A freight train clipped the rear bumper of a school bus late Monday afternoon. The fender bender caused little damage and no injuries.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to the scene and said the bus contained several children. Trooper Larry Coggins said he didn’t know which school the children attended, but that it was a magnet school and the children were of various ages.
‘‘There is no road block and nobody injured,’’ he said of the 4:04 p.m. Monday accident, which occurred at the corner of North Nebraska Avenue and Chapman Road.
Hillsborough Fire rescue trucks and firefighters arrived to find little damage. Within a half hour, rescue trucks had left the scene, transporting no one, said fire rescue spokesman Bill Watson.
‘‘It’s very, very minor,’’ he said.
This accident/incident should never have happened. A human error. Chris Post, I am sure you have NEVER made any decision in your self righteous life that you wish you could change. Shame on you for being so degrading.
To Christine Jackson:A small mishaps?This bus driver needs to allow enough space to clear the tracks.A bus load of kids could have been Killed.It scares me to death you think this way.Thank God my kids are grown up and out of school.You people have the I.Q. of a small salad bar.
Ok this incident was a misjudgement of the driver. I have been told that the driver has only been driving since 2002 and he is not familiar with the area. It is a known fact for drivers in that area that they are not to use chapman road due to the clearance situation. The driver has been suspended off his bus until the investigation is final. I just have to say it is horrible that people think this way of bus drivers. It takes a lot of patience for them to do their job and it would be nice if people would take into consideration of the atmosphere they have to put up with to get these children to and from schools everyday in a safe manor.
The article did not say anything about the children aboard the bus acting up. A fact is a fact; a train hit a school bus that did not allow him enough clearance from the train tracks. I cross over these tracks everyday and you can clearly see if a train is coming. The bus driver should have stayed behind the tracks and not assumed he would have made it on Highway 41 prior to the train crossing over Chapman Road. For all of you that are assuming the kids were acting up, would you still say this if one or more of the children were hurt or even killed? We rely on the school system to keep our kids safe and not put them in dangerous situations.
Thank you Nancy. You are exactly correct. We are to control the actions of many different
personalities. Too many children are being raised in homes with little to no discipline, respect for
others and respect for themselves. While we attempt to have a safe ride to or from, at the exact
same time trying to share the road with adults that will go to any extreme to keep from having to
follow a bus, stop at the stop arms or follow all the rules of the road. We are under great pressure
to take the best care of all children, the bus itself and other drivers. I love my job and the
children. The toughest part is the other driver. You are also correct in the concientious vs. the just
get by. I can proudly say that the majority of Hillsborough county drivers that I have known
through my near 10 years of driving are the concientious. It is too bad to see the response of Mr.
Post and Mr. Crane, makes one wonder who their children are and where they drive??
dennis & chris you two sound like your still in elementary school. it never said anything about the bus driver being at any fault. go to that section of road & tell me if you could do any better with a very long vehicle. get a grip. and be thankful we have people who will drive our kids to & from school & other events. i travel everyday along side school buses and never saw a bus driver in a hurry. and how often do you hear its the bus driver fault. karen
My mother is a school bus driver. For people to sit there and say that they are stupid for small mishaps or they speed. I would like you guys to put yourself in their shoes. By this time in the day students are rowdy because its the end of the day and they want to get home. Its not easy to get a child to sit down and listen. For many of you that haven’t rode a bus in years these buses are fully equiped with seat belts. Do these kids wear their seat belts NO because they refuse to. My mother has drove for 23 years now and I appraise her because I don’t have the patience for ignorant children and I agree with the last person stating parents need to teach their children how to respect others. There have been many times that I want to ride these buses and put kids in their place. So next time you want to discredit the driver think of how the children may have been acting.
Ms. Salman thank you so much for your non aggressive and as close to accurate account of the incident that you could give. Maybe now, people that have no idea what actually happened can keep their opinions to themselves. A lot of these little stories do not give much information and it amazes me how people just jump to conclusions based on such little or no details. Know the facts or at least have some knowledge of the situtaton in which you are so quick to judge people.
I have read the comments about the bus driver in the bus train accident and all of you who are putting down school bus drivers, get a grip. In any job there are always concientious people and then those that just get by. You could not pay me enough to transport these children. Ride behind a schoolbus for awhile and just watch what these kids are doing and then ask yourself if you could drive and maintain order and avoid an accident, if you were driving. It would help if the parents taught their children to have some respect for the bus driver and be quiet to help maintain the safety of all.
My child was on this bus and this is what happened based on my child’s description.
The driver crossed the track and stopped at the stop sign to turn onto US 41. There is a very short amount of space between the track and the stop sign at Chapman Road. While the bus driver waited for the traffic to clear, the train came along and just clipped the back corner of the bus. Apparently in trying to keep the front end of the bus out of the traffic on US 41, the driver had the back end of the bus within the clearance of the train by a few inches.
Another stupid school bus driver.Just look the way they drive,they always go faster than the speed limit.
Advertisement
Posted by nancy mendez-minier, Orlando Fl formerly of B'klyn on 03/30 at 11:37 AM
I agree with you. You really have to have patience to work with children and focus on the traffic as well. This is a captive audience full of hormones and I really pity the driver. This is really challenging. Count your blessings instead of being soooo critical.