dark_shadows, please place the blame in the right place.
The car burst into flames immediately; sandwiched in between a school bus, and a semi; seat belts, 15 year old driver, or not, noone was going to come out of that car alive. The semi, using the car as a battering ram, drove the stopped bus, 200 feet, and spun it off the road. There is only one person at fault in all of this, and that is the truck driver. It isn't the mother's fault. It wouldn't have made one iota of difference if an adult was behind the wheel. The seat belts only kept the children anchored in the flaming car.
Evidence from the scene showed that the truck did not brake before hitting the car on the two-lane road, Burroughs said.
The bus was at an approved bus stop, but it was not immediately clear whether children were getting on or off. Nine students were on the bus, and three were thrown from the vehicle by the force of the crash.