Death underscores dangers on buses: Boy, 16, dies after his head strikes tree

Indianapolis Star ^ | 11/18/03 | By Kristina Buchthal, John Fritze and Terry Horne

[Viva Le Dissention]

School bus drivers face a daunting task every day as they transport dozens of students.

"I'm checking the road; I'm checking the mirror; you constantly are looking to make sure everybody is safe," said Nancy McCall, a school bus driver from Granger and vice president of the Indiana State School Bus Drivers Association.

[Viva Le Dissention]

A follow-up to yesterday's story. The plot thickens, somewhat.

[Cobra64]

I'd have labeled this as a "Darwin Alert & Nervous Nellies"

Cause and effect are related. Sheesh!

[Tax-chick]

Of course it's tragic, but ...

When my kids do something really dumb that they've been told not to do 100 times, I tell them we'll spend their insurance money on a fancy gravestone that says, "We did our best, but he was too stupid to live!"

[Onelifetogive]

The boy's mother, Erma Garcia, questioned whether more could have been done.

I wonder if she means that she should have done more to teach her son how dangerous it is to stick your head out of the window of a moving bus???

I wonder???

[Fedupwithit]

The boy's mother, Erma Garcia, questioned whether more could have been done.

Yeah, you could have taught your stupid kid to sit down while a vehicle is moving...

Darwin Alert.

[pabianice]

Wrong title. Try:

Death underscores dangers on stupidity: Darwin Award Nominee, 16, dies after he sticks head out of moving bus

[zlala]

How many millions of kids have been transported safely on school buses? He should have been taught (by his mother) to keep his head in the window. I guess now school buses will have to be outlawed. It's for the children....

[zlala]

Re post #3. Love it!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I drove a school bus when I was a senior in high school. I seem to recall the windows opened from the top down, so a kid would have to be standing on the seat to get his head out the window.

[Tax-chick]

It gets their attention! I hope we never have to actually do it ...

[BlackRazor]

"Death Underscores Dangers on Buses"

Umm... no. Death underscores dangers of sticking one's head outside of a moving vehicle, maybe.

[I still care]

This happens every so often. I remember several years ago a student was killed on Long Island sticking his head out of a bus and into a telephone pole.

[Tax-chick]

"A lot of kids think, 'It will never happen to me,' " said senior Sarah Franklin, 18. "But it could have happened to anybody." ... "Even if he was goofing around, I don't want anyone to think he was stupid for doing it," Franklin said. "Everybody goofs around, you know."

I just noticed this quote from the next idjit to make the headlines. No, Sarah, it could not have happened to anybody ... only to somebody who stuck his head out a moving bus window. That's why everyone else on the bus is still alive.

Please, Lord, tell me this girl doesn't have a driver's license ...

[4mycountry]

Glad I'm not in your kid! ^^;;

[Tax-chick]

Glad I'm not in your kid!

What? Is that a typo, or something really sick?

[DonQ]

The bus driver seems to be really traumatized by this, but the fact is that this kid was 16 years old, just two years short of voting, and old enough to be driving a car in many states. If this 16 year old was too damdum to know better that to .... etc.etc.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Tree: 1
Man: 0

[Pan_Yans Wife]

She's being raised with a good liberal influence.

She believes actions don't have consequences. And intention matters over substance.

He didn't MEAN to be stupid, but it was his stupidity that got him killed.

I'm sorry the child is dead.

However, he is entirely at fault.

[Petronski]

"A lot of kids think, 'It will never happen to me,' " said senior Sarah Franklin, 18. "But it could have happened to anybody."

No, it couldn't have happened to 'anybody,' only morons who stick their head out the window.

[beezdotcom]

I'm sorry the child is dead. However, he is entirely at fault.

Naw, you gotta lay some of it at the feet of the parents. Especially since, in their denial, they're more concerned that the city should quickly remove trees from the path of oncoming heads, than to educate the oncoming heads.