‘Visibly upset, shaking’: Video shows truck drive around bus, nearly hit 2 Cecil County girls
By Barry Simms
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RISING SUN, Md. (WBAL) — Sheriff’s deputies in Cecil County are searching for the driver of a Toyota pickup truck after it flew by a stopped school bus and narrowly missed two girls.
Deputies are receiving plenty of help from social media, with many people outraged over the video of the incident.
Tire marks along a grass embankment and security video WBAL-TV 11 News obtained from Duvall’s Lawn and Garden show just how close two girls, ages seven and 11, came to getting hit.
A school bus stopped on Telegraph Road in Rising Sun to pick up the children. Cecil County sheriff’s deputies said the bus had its flashing lights on, warning drivers they needed to stop.
Video shows a Toyota pickup truck pulling up to the right and going around the bus, passing between the bus door and the children who were about to board.
The mother of the 7-year-old was standing nearby, watching helplessly.
“She was visibly upset, shaking,” said Brandon Stewart, a parent of the 7-year-old.
“I pulled up the camera. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. It’s crazy. That’s the only way I can say it,” said Shawn Kennedy, the 11-year-old girl’s father.
Cameras on the bus also captured images of the pickup truck.
“It’s very disturbing that somebody doesn’t have the common sense to wait five seconds so kids can get on the bus,” Stewart said.
Deputies are trying to identify the driver. The sheriff’s office issued a BOLO for the truck.
“This was a very dangerous incident. This person did this at a high speed. We don’t know why the person was doing this, why the person chose to pass the school bus in that manner,” said Capt. Michael Holmes with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office. “Was the person in a hurry, committing a crime? That’s all the stuff we’re looking at.”
Kennedy talked to his daughter when she got home.
“I said, ‘Are you OK?’ She said, ‘Yes, but dad, if I took one or two more steps, that truck would have hit me,'” Kennedy said. “That’s what hit me the worst.”
The two fathers said while in school, counselors assisted the girls and allowed them to talk about the incident.
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