St. Louis parents do their best every day to make sure that their children study hard, are courteous and kind and stay safe. It is increasingly difficult to keep kids safe, however, as more and more drivers pay more and more attention to their phones than to traffic and pedestrians.
Recent distracted driving car crashes at school bus stops across the nation have rattled parents who want more than anything to keep their offspring from harm. Five separate early-morning wrecks have taken the lives of five schoolkids and left six others hospitalized.
The crashes were in Pennsylvania, Florida, Mississippi and Indiana. The most horrifying of the series of pedestrian accidents was the first: twin 6-year-old boys and their 9-year-old sister were all struck and killed as they crossed a Rochester, Indiana, street to board their school bus. Another child was struck by the pick-up truck and had to be hospitalized.
The next day, a 9-year-old Mississippi boy was hit by a vehicle as he, too, was crossing the street to get to his bus. That same morning, a 5-year-old Florida was struck by a car as he walked by his school bus. The good news is that the boy was treated and released from a nearby hospital.
More terrible news was reported in Franklin Township, Pennsylvania, where a 7-year-old boy was found dead at a school bus stop by the bus driver. The child is the apparent victim of a hit-and-run driver. That same morning, five kids and two adults were struck as they stood waiting for a Tampa, Florida, school bus to arrive. Two of the children were hospitalized with serious injuries.
We hope the news of this series of heart-breaking events is enough to get people to stop watching their phones and start paying attention to pedestrians, traffic and street signs as they drive.
If your life has been upended by injuries inflicted on you by a distracted driver, contact a St. Louis law firm known for successful personal injury litigation.
