WINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Bus drivers with Morley Stanwood Schools say they see it all the time: drivers ignoring the flashing red lights and stop sign. The dangerous result is impacting drivers across the country.
It was the beginning of October when two Morley Stanwood studentswere hit by a car on N. Bailey Road while boarding their school bus.
"When it hit, I really thought they were dead," Morley Stanwood bus driver Shery Sharns said.
Sharns was driving the bus that morning and immediately hopped out to help the 13-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl lying on the side of the road. She says their injuries could've been prevented.
"[The driver] had plenty of time to stop," she said.
Sharns says drivers not stopping for a bus' flashing lights is more common than you think, a violation that puts kids and drivers at risk.
"I would say at least one bus out of 15 every day has a car run the lights," Sharns said.
In just three days at the beginning of November, there were five reports nationwide of children who were hurt or worse while waiting at a bus stop.
Morley Stanwood Superintendent Roger Cole says these incidents could be happening for a number of reasons, but drivers can do one thing to help avoid another similar crash: slow down.
"You need to leave earlier, drive slower and watch more," Cole said. "If you see a bus, period, and you don't know if it's brake lights, red lights or yellow lights: slow down."
As for Sharns, she says she doesn't want to have to help another injured child on the side of the road and is hoping drivers take her advice.
"Focus, pay attention is the best thing to do," she said.
