SPECIAL REPORT
Location of the May 12, 2023, school bus crash, resulting in the death of 13-year-old Evelyn Gurney.
Data Tells Story of School Transportation-related Fatalities, Injuries
Written by Taylor Ekbatani |
taylor@stnonline.com O
n May 12, a 13-year-old student pedestrian was struck and killed by a motorist. Accord- ing to preliminary information released by the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB)—which announced it was investigating the crash for the safety of school bus routes and stops as well as driver behavior while approaching stopped school buses and technologies to prevent or mitigate the severity of crashes while children are entering or exiting the school bus—a school bus was stopped to board a student pas- senger in the westbound lane of a state highway near Sauk County, Wisconsin. The two-lane highway has paved shoulders and a posted 55mph speed limit. The NTSB added that the flashing amber and red lights at the front and rear of the bus were activated, and the stop arm was deployed. East- bound traffic had reportedly stopped for the school bus. All but an F-150 pickup truck operated by a 17-year-old driver, which approached from the rear of the school
14 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2023
bus at an unknown speed as this writing. The teenage motorist didn’t stop in time and swerved to the right to avoid the bus, in the process sideswiping the right rear corner. The F-150 continued onto a private driveway, striking Evelyn Gurney. Her death is not the only one that could have been pre-
vented this past school year and in years previous. According to a spreadsheet culled from national news
articles by safety consultant Richard Fischer, 27 fatalities occurred during the 2022-2023 school year, as the result of a school bus hitting a pedestrian/bicyclist (student or adult) or a passing motorist striking a child at their school bus stop or while walking to or from the school bus stop. That’s not to mention the over 60 injures that Fischer recorded. Meanwhile, a spreadsheet developed by School Trans-
portation News compiled news articles from last school year indicated four of the six student fatalities occurred after a school bus hit a student. One of those incidents
PHOTO COURTESY OF NTSB/SAUK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
