Anguish
This morning a child was hit by a car and killed in front of my children's school.
She was 15 years old, crossing the street to get on the bus.
The bus had its stop sign extended and its red lights were flashing, but the driver did not stop.
I put my children on their bus this morning, wondering why the bus was a few minutes late. I put the breakfast dishes in the dish washer and brushed my teeth and got in my car to drive to work.
The road in front of my children's school was closed to all traffic. There were many, many police cars. The police officer motioned for me to turn my car around, and my hands shook against the steering wheel as I did so.
I was terrified, terrified that something had happened at the elementary school, and I am ashamed by my own immediate feeling of unbelievable relief when I was told that the victim of the accident was fifteen.
"Not one of mine, not one of mine, not one of mine," spun in my head for a few seconds.
And then I was filled with horror and sadness.
I cannot imagine the anguish this child's parents must be feeling. I am angry with the driver, and I want to know...why didn't she stop? Why didn't she stop?
I am worried about what my children saw when their bus drove them past the accident. (They were allowing school buses to go through the police barricade.)
The collective grief of my pleasant little suburb is heavy on my heart.
posted by LawMommy at 2:05 PM
11 Comments:
in the fall an older 80 something woman drove through a stopped bus with its stop sign and killed a 6 year old. It was horrific and the community was really rattled by it.
(the real sad thing, the lady got a 500 dollar fine and a 1 year suspended license).
But, it weighs.
Oh, that makes my throat close up, to contemplate what everyone involved must be feeling. Even the woman who was driving. Horrible, horrible.
One of my biggest fears, as my children have to cross our street, which is a state route, to get on the busn in the morning. It's not that we get a lot of traffic, it's just that we get fast traffic. I can't imagine the horror for the parents, the driver, the students, everyone. This certainly influenced our dinner table conversation tonight.
that hurt to read. how awful.
That right there is one of my biggest nightmare fears. I always go to my (12 almost 13 year old) son's bus stop in the afternoon and stand practically in the road to make certain that the cars really and truly stop when he crosses the street. I have seen cars blow through the bus' stop sign and flashing lights many many times.
That poor poor girl. Her parents - ugh, I can't even let myself go there, to imagine that kind of pain. I will be praying for them tonight.
I'm so sorry that such a horrible thing happened in your area and the worry you faced. :( My niece was hit by a truck with a trailer attached about 3 years ago in front of her home. Luckily she survived, but has had numerous surgeries since and has a mild TBI. The man didn't stop until witnesses were screaming at him to stop and she was still under the vehicle. My brother-in-law and his family had to walk away from their home due to the psychological affect it was having on the entire family. The man received a misdemeanor with no punishment at all....
Being a parent turns you into a "worry wart". We live right at the front entrance of our development and for the last eight yrs I have worried about my children playing in the front yard. Had I been single, I would never have thought about where my house was situated. I still sit in the car while my son waits for the morning bus (until he asks me to stop). Such a tragic story.
You would think that working in one of the nations busiest pediatric ER's for 5+ years would make me hardened to stories like these...but my heart breaks, and tears flow EVERY time. Of course, being 9 months pregnant doesnt' help with the tears either! The child's life that was lost will not be forgotten- I will use extra care in memory of her- just like you will.
I have a hole in my stomach after reading that.
I sweat every fricken time Luna RUNS to cross the street for the bus. Right now it is very icy in the mornings. I worry. I literally stare down the drivers coming the opposite direction to make them stop. I am so so sorry and glad the it wasn't your child....
Okay, so I've been lurking on your blog for quite some time and always suspected we lived in the same area. But now I'm coming out of the closet in case you are wondering who from your area is reading (if you check your blog stats - or whatever the lingo is). Just a complete stranger. Funny what a small world it is.
~Tara
omg.
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