08:41 – Another front-page article in the paper this morning about the death of the child in the school bus incident, this one describing how the prosecution’s case fell apart. Everyone seems to agree that the prosecution was not at fault and did the right thing by going for the misdemeanor plea deal after the case ended in a mistrial. I disagree. I think they should have dismissed the charges and let the guy walk. They had no evidence that he’d committed any crime whatsoever, and strong evidence that what the driver had claimed happened was exactly what had happened.
All of that said, this guy is a moron. Who else drives at 45 MPH past a stopped school bus with its yellow lights flashing? Any normal person in that situation would take his foot off the accelerator, slow down, and be ready to brake. This guy just blew past the bus at 45 MPH, struck the child, and tossed his body 125 feet. So, we have a dead child who’d done nothing wrong and two adults who at the very least showed no sense. One of those adults will spend 30 days in jail, which at least may give him the opportunity to think about what happened. And then there’s the school bus driver, whose actions in turning around and sitting stopped with only the yellow lights flashing were in violation of policy and were at least in part responsible for the child’s death. As far as I know, she faces no disciplinary action, let alone termination.