Posted on 09/11/2007 11:19:05 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
A Cherokee Middle School staff member was killed Monday morning after being hit by an SUV outside of the school.
According to the Dane County Coroner's office, Becky Sue Buchmann, 48, of Oregon, was hit by the vehicle at 7:13 a.m. and died from the injuries.
Buchmann, an educational assisant in the library, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The driver of the SUV, whose name has not been released, was dropping off a child at the school when the accident occurred on Cherokee Drive.
No arrests or citations have been made, but the investigation is ongoing, police said.
As the news of the tragedy rippled through Madison's school community, friends and fellow teachers gathered at Cherokee today.
Marj Passman, a former Cherokee teacher who is now retired, spent time at the school this morning, remembering Becky Buchmann, and grieving with colleagues over her loss.
"The thing so many of us will remember about Becky is that she was a very warm and accepting teacher who welcomed every child to the library, and who handled everything that came her way with unflappable grace and style," Passman said.
Passman added that Buchmann and librarian Laura Holt were close colleagues and friends who joined forces to make the Cherokee library a true hub of the school, and a warm and loving home within the school for teachers as well as students.
"As a teacher, you always knew that your students were well taken care of and that they would be learning, too, when you sent them to Becky and Laura. She always listened carefully to every child, and helped them find the perfect book," she said. "Cherokee has such a close-knit staff, and everyone works so well together. She will be terribly missed."
School Board President Arlene Silveira, whose daughter spent her middle school years at Cherokee, also went to the school today.
"I just felt like I had to be there today because Cherokee is a place that is near and dear to my heart," Silveira said.
"This school feels like a home for many of us as parents, or staff or students, and losing Becky is a loss for everyone."
"A. Freiwald says:
I feel for the driver. But much more, I feel for Becky and her family. A person driving a car needs to be responsible and mindful every moment, as they can and will kill people if they are not. This person needs to be held accountable for this. This is not an 'accident' which implies it could not be avoided. This was a crash. Crashes can be avoided by drivers being careful. I will keep Becky her family and Cherokee in my thoughts."
"A. Freiwald says:
I did not say it was intentional. No one intentional hits a person with a car. Yet 40,000 people die each year in this country in car crashes and 250,000 are injuried. My point is, the driver is the one with the dangerous weapon. The drivers need to be trained to be aware of what they are doing. As we all drive everyday we become too complacent in our driving.
And the City, the State of Wisconsin and the federal government are trying to do something about school transport safety. It is called Safe Routes to School http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/home Check it out."
"John says:
A. Friewald is right. 'Accident' is the wrong word. The driver chose to take his/her kid to school, rather than relying on the bus or walking. He/she is responsible for what happens with the car. The buck stops there. We don't need more government intervention, necessarily, but we do need to hold all drivers to account for their actions. It's a scandal that we keep having people on their fourth or fifth DUI out on the road causing crashes. I don't have any reason to believe this driver was drinking, but he/she ran over someone in broad daylight. Sounds like negligent homicide to me. "
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Guns and SUV’s KILL!!............all by themselves!!!!
I suppose a Prius tried to revive her, but its batteries had been removed and sent to the Iraq war.
Damn those rouge SUVs! If you MUST have one to make up for your tiny penis then they need to be chained and muzzled like pit bulls or kept locked and unfueled in a closet like guns! /s
Those eevil SUVs get around inflicting mayhem on the innocent! Shades of Christine!
Several jokes come to mind, a couple of them are ‘inside baseball’ internet based.....(chuckle)
Pink SUVs?
I wonder if she was using her cell phone when she hit the poor woman.
Amazing, isn’t it? And that truly IS the mindset of many around here, enamored with our failing public transportation system, and of course the strident walkers/bikers who would rather kill you than let you drive your car anywhere.
These people are NUTS! :)
In other words, public transportation = good
You driving yourself or anyone else = bad
We need to be more reliant on others, dang it!
/sarc
Frankly, I hate the SUVs with lip liner and mascara. Sheesh, what a fashion-hate crime.
YES! and no high capacity fuel tanks! Limit to 5 gallons, if you need more than that take the bus!
Please, Please! Tell me the SUV wasn’t a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
5 gallons is less than a 1/4 tank in my snow plow.
But, I suppose, the liberals would be happy if I failed to plow, and they all had to walk. In the snow. Uphill, both ways.
Seriously, prayers for the teacher.
I guess if she’d been bit by a bus, she’d be less dead.
Yes, prayers for the teachers family and the driver.
Let's see, woman driving, cell phone involved, probably a democrat. No wonder they didn't identify her.
Well, that is true - of any driver in just about any situation.
I wonder how fast the driver was going?
Naw. The article only once mentions that there was a driver, but since evidently someone was driving it, that means that at most the SUV can only be charged with complicity.
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