Driver Hits Schoolboy

by Staff | Nov 19, 2014 5:45 pm

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Posted to: The Hill

A boy trying to board a school bus ended up at Yale-New Haven Hospital instead Wednesday morning after a driver hit him. The incident occurred at 8:38 a.m. at Vernon Street and Davenport Avenue in the Hill neighborhood. The student was struck as he tried to board the bus. Police cited the driver for reckless driving, a misdemeanor that requires a court appearance; and improper passing of a standing school bus, according to Lt. Jeff Hoffman. He said the boy is 12 years old. “It appears he is going to be OK,” schools spokesman Abbe Smith said of the student, who she said attends Strong 21st Century Communications Magnet & Lab School on Orchard Street. The driver was not cited under the state’s new “vulnerable users” law because the offense requires causing serious injuries, and “thankfully” this incident did not, Hoffman said. Meanwhile, police reported another pedestrian struck by a motorist at around 9 p.m. Tuesday while crossing Whalley Avenue at Orchard Street. He suffered “non-life-threatening injuries to his right chin and knee and his back,” according to a police report; the driver fled the scene.

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posted by: Brewski on November 19, 2014 11:24am When are we going to start taking safety seriously? If this guy was throwing steak knives into the street, you can be sure he would be behind bars right now—why is traffic violence any different?? At the very least he should lose his license.

posted by: Brian Tang on November 19, 2014 12:52pm wow. Who gets to define “serious injury?” And who wrote that provision, anyway? Someone should send them this story.

posted by: Hmmm... on November 19, 2014 1:18pm Another question is why does a 12 year old have to take a bus less than half a mile (about 5 or 6 blocks) to school instead of walking?

posted by: William Kurtz I guess some of us weren’t paying attention. During the entire conversation about the ‘vulnerable user’, this is exactly the kind of situation I thought it would apply to. It seems shocking that it’s not being used here. And speaking more globally, compare this seeming reluctance to hold drivers accountable to the full extent of the law with the extreme willingness to seize private property under asset forfeiture laws when there’s even a hint of illegal drug activity. Bruce is right—why is traffic violence so easily overlooked?

posted by: Wikus van de Merwe on November 19, 2014 2:32pm I’m not defending passing school buses but anyone who is paying attention has witnessed these school buses abusing the law to control traffic for other school buses. Buses routinely speed down my residential side street as a cut-through to the major roadways. Often you will be stuck behind one at the stop sign as they hold traffic for other buses entering the roadway. This is illegal. If you want people to respect buses, they need to be respectable. When I see a bus put on it’s hazards I am genuinely in doubt as to whether they are legitimately making a stop or just using their lights for a convenience.

posted by: HewNaven on November 19, 2014 2:49pm Misdemeanor?! Seriously?

posted by: robn on November 19, 2014 3:21pm I’ve only once been held up by a NH school bus driver blatantly chatting with a parent for an overly prolonged period of time. I would say that 99.9% of the time they behave responsibly and considerately.

posted by: HewNaven on November 19, 2014 3:22pm Why not aggravated assault or attempted murder?

posted by: FairHavenRes on November 19, 2014 4:28pm Wikus it almost sounds like you are defending the passing of a school bus. Bus drivers might stretch the law at times but you know what? They’re carrying children, some of the most vulnerable in our population. Anyone who passes a bus—and hits a child—ought to have their license revoked and spend some time in jail thinking about their idiocy. At the very least. Then they can go to driving school to better understand what a huge responsibility it is to be driving a multi-ton hunk of metal that can have such devastating effects if they’re not 100% attentive, 100% of the time.

posted by: robn on November 19, 2014 5:09pm The person has to appear in court but its not clear from this article if there’s an automatic license suspension. Unless there’s some absolutely ironclad mitigating circumstance like machine malfunction or a visual obstacle, I think there should be at least a one year suspension for somebody who hits a kid, no matter what the injuries.