News-Record.com

I completely agree that violators of the school bus stop-arm law should be dealt with sternly. This is a serious, dangerous crime and the courts should send a strong message that this will not be tolerated.

In this case, the teenage driver should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law as an adult, both for actually violating the stop-arm law and for fleeing the scene/obstruction of justice.

This is a frustrating problem in general because passing a stopped school bus is so dangerous and it continues to happen so often, yet few drivers are ever cited and fewer convicted.

It's up to the bus drivers to report violations and, if they can, get a description of vehicle and driver. Pretty tough to do considering many morning runs are in the dark, a lot of vehicles have tinted windows, and bus drivers are also supposed to be keeping an eye on the kids.

Should other motorists help by taking note of violators and calling the school transportation office with information? (They'd have to be aware they could be called as witnesses in court.)

WGHP reported (http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5144506&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1)
that both girls had been drinking and neither had a license. The man who loaned them the car was not exactly guilt-free as well.

This is not a bad situation, it is a VERY bad situation.

The 17-year-old has been charged with felony hit-and-run and accessory but not DWI or driving without a license. Charges apparently are pending against the 16-year-old. It's not clear to me that the 17-year-old is the actual suspected driver as the accessory charge might imply her culpability simply by not coming forward with information about the crime.

Sure enough, police think the other girl was the driver:

Rachel Denise Jones, 16, of 1308 Leonard Ave., is charged with felony hit and run, felony passing a stopped school bus, felony assault with a deadly weapon, driving while impaired and careless and reckless driving,

Wow. Those are major charges. This girl is in a world of trouble.

But remember, it's up to prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was at the wheel at the time the car hit the child. A good defense attorney might have an opportunity to sow some doubt. If this case goes to trial -- and a plea bargain is always possible -- it could be very interesting and dramatic.

When my now-30 yo son was learning to drive, I told him that most likely if he got into trouble, it wouldn't be because of his driving skills; it'd be about his (very young) judgment. That proved true. At about 5 pm one evening, he backed into a van, did some fender/paint damage, got out and looked for the owner, couldn't find him, and came home to tell me.

I did everything except one thing. I called hubby (out of town), called the owner of the van (it was a store; closed for the night) but didn't leave voicemail, called the insurance company and reported it, and moved on with the evening. The police arrived. Who did I forget to call? Right. The cops. (Had I left voicemail at the store who owned the van, it'd probably have been OK).

He got a hit-and-run ticket and we hired a lawyer and it didn't go on his permanent record because he hadn't had an offense before or after. (NB: this is before cell phones). We paid a lot of money for the lawyer (the kid paid us back through working at Subway for a long while) and had the van fixed. The kid learned about judgment.

I always worried about 16-yo's driving mostly because of judgment errors and slightly less about experience (at least with my kids; we did the exhaustive training thing, parking and highways included, in all weather). When this girl apparently made heinous mistakes, she didn't have the judgment to stop, help, and call the police.

I'd call the two situations quantitatively different; however, the bottom line (lack of judgment) is similar. I don't think we can teach that; some kids have it and others never will.

What a horrible situation for everyone involved. How terribly tragic for the injured child and her family as well as for the families of the driver and passenger.

My prayers for the child hit.

Thanks, Sue and Doug. It is important to consider everyone involved: the victim and her family, but also these teens and their families, all of whom are struggling through a long and harrowing ordeal because of a series of poor judgments rather than evil intent.

Doug,

Do you know if someone has set up a fund for this family? I would like to contribute a Christmas present if that is the case.

And, why weren't these 16 and 17-year-olds in school??? The accident occurred just before 3:00. In GCS, both middle and high schools get out after that time.

Were these 2 drop-outs?

what was the connection with the two girls and the older man? If you let someone have your car with out a license and they have been drinking, there must be more to the story than is being told.