7 killed in school bus crash - MERGED

[13th Juror]

Snips from a recent article ...


The speed limit in that stretch of the highway is 60 mph, and the bus was stopped at an approved bus stop.

"It's a dangerous road -- it's one lane going and one lane coming -- and they fly through here every day," resident Jason Wilson said. "I've lived here about seven years and I've witnessed over half a dozen fatalities out there."


Two funds were set up to help the families with funeral and other expenses:

The City of Lake Butler set up:

Mann-Scott Family Fund
Community State Bank
255 Southeast 6th Street
Lake Butler, Fla. 32054

or call (386) 496 - 3333.

Donations can be sent to:

Mann Family Memorial Fund at
Mercantile Bank
300 West Main Street
Lake Butler, Fla 32054

Donors can call the bank at (386) 496 - 2101.


Two families - 7 Precious Children - 1 Grandfather

Just too sad for words ....

13th Juror

 

[dark_shadows]

I am doing ok ... just dealing with some mean people today
I like my dogs, they are much nicer


What a field trip that must've been for you!
Goodness grief!
A morgue!
Thanks for the link. I will need to look at that.

PrayersForMaura,I am sorry that people are being mean to you.People that are mean want to manipulate your emotions.Their primary offensive is to hurt your feelings.A moving target is hard to hit,so do not verify to them if your feelings are hurt.Move on to good things,pet your dogs,ect.Do not let anyone rent space in your head and make you sad.
Here is a smile for you and I hope that your day is better.






Thankyou for taking the time to look at the link.As I said,the trip to the morgue was a very important part of our class.

 

[bugs]

In the state of Tennessee, once a 16 year old gets their license they can have only one passenger in the car that is not their sibling. However, should they have 15 siblings they can all be in the car at once. Doesn't make much sense. I guess the law beleives that a 16 year old would be less distracted by younger kids than kids their own age. :doh:

I know everyone keeps saying the child was driving on an illegal license, but she wasn't at fault. I'm sure the kids mom and dad are tearing themselves inside out over this one.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

In the state of Tennessee, once a 16 year old gets their license they can have only one passenger in the car that is not their sibling. However, should they have 15 siblings they can all be in the car at once. Doesn't make much sense. I guess the law beleives that a 16 year old would be less distracted by younger kids than kids their own age. :doh:

I know everyone keeps saying the child was driving on an illegal license, but she wasn't at fault. I'm sure the kids mom and dad are tearing themselves inside out over this one.

You're right. The investigator said that if the mother had been in the car there simply would have been one more victim, not a "prevention" of the events. She'll never forgive herself for allowing her daughter to drive. I can't imagine the pain she's in.

 

[christine2448]

Police say truck driver Alvin Wilkerson has two arrests in Jacksonville:
1997 - Accessory after the fact to murder
1999 - Soliciting for prostitution
Wilkerson also has four traffic citations since 1999.

 

[kgeaux]

Dude never even hit the brakes. They think he may have been on his cell phone.

An 18 wheeler caused an accident with multiple fatalities a year or so ago here in Lafayette. Know what he was doing? Driving and watching *advertiser censored* on his little truck DVD.

Some things are so preventable that the tragedy is compounded.

If THIS truck driver was on his phone, on dope, whatever caused him to plow into that van without even hitting his brakes, I hope he is held accountable for taking the lives of so many children. I hope and pray he doesn't get off because she was 15.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

An 18 wheeler caused an accident with multiple fatalities a year or so ago here in Lafayette. Know what he was doing? Driving and watching *advertiser censored* on his little truck DVD.

Some things are so preventable that the tragedy is compounded.

If THIS truck driver was on his phone, on dope, whatever caused him to plow into that van without even hitting his brakes, I hope he is held accountable for taking the lives of so many children. I hope and pray he doesn't get off because she was 15.

Unless he had a medical emergency, there's no way he's "not" going to be held accountable.

I just read this too (BAD WEEK FOR TRUCK ACCIDENTS):

CNN) -- Six people died and eight were hurt Thursday when a pickup truck collided with a car-carrier in South Texas, said an official with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The accident happened in Jim Wells County at the intersection of U.S. 281 and County Road 460 between Falfurrias and Premont, Cpl. Charlie Ramirez said.

The dead and injured were in the pickup; the driver of the big rig was taken to a hospital, treated and released.

Four of the injured were taken to a hospital in Alice; four were taken to medical facilities in Corpus Christi, about 60 miles away.

Ramirez said some of those hurt are in the United States illegally, and that the U.S. Border Patrol is leading the investigation.

The pickup was rented in Houston, he said.

www.cnn.com

 

[Hammerized]

Police say truck driver Alvin Wilkerson has two arrests in Jacksonville:
1997 - Accessory after the fact to murder
1999 - Soliciting for prostitution
Wilkerson also has four traffic citations since 1999.

:behindbar

Damn. While this awful tragedy is not the first of its kind, I can say I was really, really hoping this would not turn into another "a$$hole semi driver" story. It's not looking good for this guy. And if he was using his cell phone at the time? Oh, man.

Personally, I have absolutely had it with drivers who do not notice or respect school bus stops. Add to that, some passing allegations I had read in this case regarding truck traffic on this road where (allegedly, according to some residents) trucks were not legally allowed to drive (at all- or just during certain hours?) That pisses me off, too. But I digress, and that's better left for another thread...

This family has been dealt such a blow- such a "one fell swoop" tragedy. And then for a grandfather to suffer a heart attack following it? OMG, I really hope these surviving famlily members can find the support and help they are going to need. It is reassuring to an outsider that they were apparently very involved in a local church...

Those poor kids.

If this truck driver was as negligent- and flaunting traffic law- as the recent news stories make him out to be, I think he needs to go to prison for life. Unfortunately, he will probably only get a slap on the hand and be required to enroll in some lame-*advertiser censored* "driver re-education" class. He's probably union, eh?

 

[dark_shadows]

This was on CNN @4pm tonight,there was nothing else different on any other news station about the other charges that were listed on this thread.Is there a link for that info.


Trucker had driving citations

Wilkerson has been hospitalized and is medicated, police said.

Initial estimates show Wilkerson's truck traveling between 50 mph and 65 mph when it struck the Manns' car, police said.

The tractor-trailer left no skid marks, police told CNN Thursday. But there were marks on the road indicating Wilkerson veered away only after the initial impact.

"Basically he just wasn't paying attention, couldn't slow down in time and just ran into the back of the other vehicle," Leeper said.

Wilkerson was cited in 2000 and 2001 for operating a vehicle in unsafe conditions and also for driving on a suspended or revoked license in 2000.





http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/26/bus.crash/index.html

 

[13th Juror]

Police say truck driver Alvin Wilkerson has two arrests in Jacksonville:

1997 - Accessory after the fact to murder
1999 - Soliciting for prostitution
Wilkerson also has four traffic citations since 1999.

This story has been all over our local news.

WKMG TV - our CBS affiliate showed their interview with Barbara (kid's Mom) just after her father passed away. Absolutely heartbreaking!! She is now in seclusion.

As for Wilkerson - his arrest in 1997 in Jacksonville 'as an accessory after the fact' - was for harboring & hiding the suspect who had hidden the child's body he had murdered. Wilkerson was not convicted.

As we know - Wilkerson was hauling bottled water. WKMG reported that he was employed by a Nebraska based company but no name was given. FHP (Fla Highway Patrol) said that the filing of charges could take weeks.

All of the people on the school bus as well as the driver are expected to make full recovery.

13th Juror

 

[blueclouds]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/26/bus.crash/index.html
another link about Grandpa. I cannot imagine the horror and heartache of this entire family. NOTHING will ever come close to being normal or peaceful again for them. And now the 2 daughters loose their children AND THEIR DAD the next day. OMG. This is a very mind boggling story. I can't even get my brain wrapped around this to even conceive how any of them will go on in life.

a million TEARS IN HEAVEN TONIGHT.

 

[concernedperson]

Just the thought of the pain is more than people ever have to experience in a day.

 

[cheko1]

A friend of mine who lives in that part of Fl says it is not uncommon for a 15 yr old to be allowed to drive up to 5 miles. That even the police know & allow it. She called it the good old boys system......

She says the Mom will really get a backlash for it but its done all the time.

 

[13th Juror]

a couple of excerpts from local6.com that caught my eye ...

FHP Checking Semi Driver's Sleep, Cell Records

Florida Highway Patrol investigators are checking the sleep and cell phone records of a semi driver involved in a crash that killed seven adopted children on a rural road in Union County Wednesday, according to Local 6 News.

The crash occurred just after 3:30 p.m. on state Road 121, four miles south of Lake Butler.

Troopers said a tractor-trailer hauling bottled water slammed into the back of a Pontiac Bonneville, which was stopped behind a school bus loaded with children and a bus driver.


The semi driver, Alvin Wilkerson, was going just over the speed limit at 65 mph when his rig struck the bus, troopers told Local 6 News.

*******

Just trying to figure this out and make some sense of it ...

The car the 15 yr. old teen was driving was a Pontiac Bonneville. There were up to "8" people inside that automobile. If my memory serves - a Bonneville is not roomy enough for that many passengers. No way!

The accident occurred at 3:30 pm as the children were returning 'home from school'. In my mind - that sounds like this 15 yr. old girl, clearly an illegal driver, was tasked with transporting ALL these children to and from school - probably on a regular basis.

This was not in some suburban neighborhood driving a mile or 2 with a 30-35 mile an hour speed limit. The driving route was on a very dangerous 2 lane state road with a 60 mile an hour speed limit.

I'm also wondering why a child of 3 and a baby of less than 2 years were in that car 'on their way home from school' ..? Why not 'at home' with their Mom or Dad?

I wholeheartedly applaud couples/families that take-in and eventually adopt needy children from the foster care system. However - I have a really big problem with those adoptive parents turning over the day-to-day care necessary to others - especially to their other kids.

Both mothers (sisters) allowed & approved of this 15 yr. old illegal child driver to transport all of their precious children on a dangerous highway?? I don't 'get it'!

I know the accident wasn't the child's fault - (I'm not blaming her!) but, I'm having a really hard time understanding how any of the parents permitted this scenario. Couldn't one of the parents have made time to drive their kids to school & back? Isn't that still part of being a responsible parent?

Totally heartbreaking for all concerned!

13th Juror

 

[kk's mom]

I agree with you 100%. I wasn't ready at 15 and my daughter was 18 before she got her license. She came to us and told us she wanted to wait. :clap:

My niece, however, got hers at 15. I can't begin to tell you how many fender benders she's been in. I've lost count.

All the lives lost in this. Such a darn shame. My heart goes out to the families of the victims (the ones that died and the ones who were injured). Staying on the subject of teens driving (not talking here about the girl who drove and was killed), I think it should be 17. I have a neighbor who started driving (on his jr. license) when he was 16. He's now 20 but from the time he was 16 to 18, he was involved in 5 (FIVE!!!) accidents. You had to start wondering after awhile who was most likely at fault. And then this past summer, 3 teenage boys were killed in a car accident one hour after one of them had gotten their license. Kid gets his license, parents give him the keys to their car to take his friends on a joy ride and boom, one hour later, all 3 are dead. A witness said the kid was driving down the road extremely fast with the stereo blaring......such a shame. And to top it all off, I watch teens driving in my area (live on a semi-busy road in town so it gets alot of local traffic) and they just rip down the street. They either don't learn from others or they just don't care. It is very sad.

 

[PaperDoll]

Prayers for comfort, strength and healing still going out to this family.. It is so very sad ...

 

[christine2448]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_us/school_bus_crash

 

[Mabel]

There was a show on TV a few years ago where they tested teen driver's reaction times in various driving scenarios. In every case, the teens reacted too slowly. It seems they don't have the ability to take in everything that's going on around them and prepare for what might happen ahead. For example, they failed many times to notice another car approaching on their right when stopped at a four-way stop and therefore didn't prepare for the chance that the other car might run the sign.

Not to take any blame away from the truck driver, he should have been watching ahead to where the bus was stopped, but I wonder if the teen girl didn't brake until she was right up on the bus and then, if the truck driver was on the phone or not paying attention, he didn't have time to stop once her brake lights came on. It would be no surprise to me if the 15 year old wasn't totally distracted with all those kids crammed into the car. I would be.

 

[ajc2804]

Bits and peices of this article

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182940,00.html

A video recorder was apparently on the bus, but it wasn't working, he said.

Dalton Sumner, an 11-year-old boy who was on the bus, said he heard the semi honking its horn before the crash, which spun the bus around.

"We just went into the ditch and hit a tree," he told reporters at a Gainesville hospital. "I walked off the bus and I was walking around for a little while. I got on my knees and laid down, and I remember that I couldn't move

 

[Jules]

All the lives lost in this. Such a darn shame. My heart goes out to the families of the victims (the ones that died and the ones who were injured). Staying on the subject of teens driving (not talking here about the girl who drove and was killed), I think it should be 17. I have a neighbor who started driving (on his jr. license) when he was 16. He's now 20 but from the time he was 16 to 18, he was involved in 5 (FIVE!!!) accidents. You had to start wondering after awhile who was most likely at fault. And then this past summer, 3 teenage boys were killed in a car accident one hour after one of them had gotten their license. Kid gets his license, parents give him the keys to their car to take his friends on a joy ride and boom, one hour later, all 3 are dead. A witness said the kid was driving down the road extremely fast with the stereo blaring......such a shame. And to top it all off, I watch teens driving in my area (live on a semi-busy road in town so it gets alot of local traffic) and they just rip down the street. They either don't learn from others or they just don't care. It is very sad.

I really think kids think they are invincible. They are in a vehicle - they are protected. Nothing bad will happen to them - they can drive as fast as they want.

I drove one time with my niece and told her never again. I also told her if I was her mom, she would not be driving. She's not a BAD driver - just a fast one. She scared the HELL outta me - weaving in and out of lanes, etc. all to get where she was going 30 seconds faster. :doh:

What is it with kids these days? It's all about the speed. I'm only 40, but remember days before microwaves, etc., and all the gadgets we have now that make things faster. I'm baffled at times. Kids today wouldn't survive 30 years ago.