Girl dies after school bus strikes her

Authorities in Oak Ridge say a 12-year-old girl who was struck by a school bus while riding her bicycle has died. via WTVC Chattanooga

[DONATIONS]

is there any one taking up a donation for the bus driver

[DJ wilson]

Is there any one taking up donations for the girls family?

[OR mom of RMS student]

DJ wilson wrote:

Is there any one taking up donations for the girls family?

Ashley Paine Fund set up for Paine Family at Calvary Baptist Church. 163 North Jefferson Circle, Oak Ridge TN 37830

[DJ wilson]

Thank You.

[TRUE DAT]

DONATIONS wrote:

is there any one taking up a donation for the bus driver

The bus driver? Why would anyone take donations for the bus driver? Is anyone taking donations to bury the young girl the bus driver drove over?

[TRUE DAT]

OR mom of RMS student wrote:

<quoted text>
Ashley Paine Fund set up for Paine Family at Calvary Baptist Church. 163 North Jefferson Circle, Oak Ridge TN 37830

Thank you. I'm still shocked that anyone would ask about donations for the bus driver. I know Ashley lost control of her bike, but if the bus driver has been paying attention to her surroundings and driving with Ashley in her vision, this might have been prevented. I'm not trying to lay blame here, but what reason would anyone have for raising money for the bus driver??

[Been there]

TRUE DAT wrote:

<quoted text>
Thank you. I'm still shocked that anyone would ask about donations for the bus driver. I know Ashley lost control of her bike, but if the bus driver has been paying attention to her surroundings and driving with Ashley in her vision, this might have been prevented. I'm not trying to lay blame here, but what reason would anyone have for raising money for the bus driver??

I don't mean to bash bus drivers so don't even go there. To many bus drivers do not practice safe driving and the police turn their eyes. I personally had an incident with a bus driver that almost killed on my street. When I confronted her speed, she proclaimed I was doing the speed limit. I addressed the fact that the speed limit is a guideline assuming all other conditions allow that limit. The little boy that was wobbling down the road on his bike constituted a condition where she should of slowed down. I mourn for the little girl and her family. I pray this wakes up a few bus drivers. And the post I replied to, thank you.

[2Spunky]

Been there wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't mean to bash bus drivers so don't even go there. To many bus drivers do not practice safe driving and the police turn their eyes. I personally had an incident with a bus driver that almost killed on my street. When I confronted her speed, she proclaimed I was doing the speed limit. I addressed the fact that the speed limit is a guideline assuming all other conditions allow that limit. The little boy that was wobbling down the road on his bike constituted a condition where she should of slowed down. I mourn for the little girl and her family. I pray this wakes up a few bus drivers. And the post I replied to, thank you.

That's my thinking as well. Why feel sorry for this bus driver? As this poster says, that speed limit is posted for optimal conditions. There was a child present...in clear site of this driver. It was the driver's responsibility to keep that child in their site and to slow down in anticipation of the worst happening. That's what responsible drivers do. When my dad was teaching me to drive, every few minutes he'd reach up and cover the rear view mirror with his hand and ask me what color the car was behind or beside me because he preached (and harped actually, lol) being constantly and keenly aware of my surroundings at every moment while behind the wheel of a 3-ton, moving vehicle. Something to think about.

[NightSerf]

I believe that the first post was by a troll hoping for exactly this response, and five of you fell for it. I doubt that anyone outside the family feels worse about this than the bus driver. We'd all like to believe that we're such incredibly wonderful drivers that this could never happen to us, but let's put our feelings of smug superiority aside for a moment and think:

You're driving a big bus. You pass a child riding on a sidewalk who appears to be in control. Then she's in your blind spot. Just as you're glancing at the mirror expecting to see her re-entering it's area, you feel the bump as the rear tires hit this beautiful child. You stop the bus and run out to check and see your worst nightmare coming true.

Donations she does not need, but understanding and compassion for her are not precluded by grief for Ashley Payne. She must be in more pain than most of us have ever known.

[TRUE DAT]

3 of us.

[Dont have one]

2Spunky_Knoxville TN wrote:

<quoted text>
That's my thinking as well. Why feel sorry for this bus driver? As this poster says, that speed limit is posted for optimal conditions. There was a child present...in clear site of this driver. It was the driver's responsibility to keep that child in their site and to slow down in anticipation of the worst happening. That's what responsible drivers do. When my dad was teaching me to drive, every few minutes he'd reach up and cover the rear view mirror with his hand and ask me what color the car was behind or beside me because he preached (and harped actually, lol) being constantly and keenly aware of my surroundings at every moment while behind the wheel of a 3-ton, moving vehicle. Something to think about.

Are you stupid? yes we should feel sorry for the bus driver, she fell under the bus as it was passing, how could that be prevented? IT WAS A FREAK ACCIDENT and I feel very sorry for the bus driver.

[Student in Oak Ridge]

2Spunky_Knoxville TN wrote:

<quoted text>
That's my thinking as well. Why feel sorry for this bus driver? As this poster says, that speed limit is posted for optimal conditions. There was a child present...in clear site of this driver. It was the driver's responsibility to keep that child in their site and to slow down in anticipation of the worst happening. That's what responsible drivers do. When my dad was teaching me to drive, every few minutes he'd reach up and cover the rear view mirror with his hand and ask me what color the car was behind or beside me because he preached (and harped actually, lol) being constantly and keenly aware of my surroundings at every moment while behind the wheel of a 3-ton, moving vehicle. Something to think about.

Have you seen this intersection? It's a four-way road, and the driver was turning when it happened. Ashley wasn't crossing the street when the bus hit her. As of what I've been told, Ashley fell/tripped in front of the back wheel while the bus was in motion. The driver did stop before completely running her over.(The girl's head was hit. If the driver hadn't stopped, the girl wouldn't have even been able to air lifted to the hospital. Her skull would have been smushed. Morbid, I know, but true.) Imagine if you ran over a child that ran right in front of you. Would you feel sorry? It was a complete accident. It wasn't the driver's fault. It could have happened just as easily to any other bus driver. So, yeah, I do feel sorry for her.(By the way, the students riding on the bus that ran her over said that it wasn't the driver's fault and ALL of them said that they would ride with her again, no problem. They hope that she'll be okay after all of this. If they can forgive and feel sorry, why can't you?)

[DJ wilson]

I do feel sorry for the bus driver but i do agree with (2Spunky_Knoxville TN) because if you are driving it is your responsibility to see as much as posible in your line of vision. And correct me if I am wrong but all buses have bubble mirrors on the hood and the side of the bus also right. The bubble mirrors allow you to see even farther right? And I do understand that the driver cannot be looking in the mirrors constantly, but the driver could have slowed down and looked in the mirrors and merged over just a few feet away from the sidewalk. But dont get me wrong I do feel sorry for the driver also. We dont know what the moment was like and what was happening at the time.

[josh]

I was right acroos the street when it happened and saw it all. It was un preventable unless ashley wasnt anywhere near the intersection. thats all im going to say because thats all that needs to be said .

[DJ wilson]

People are saying that she tripped into the intersection and the bus driver could not react quick enough to stop. Not to say the blame is on the bus driver but driveing a big bus like that you are supposed to stay at least 3 ft from the curb for safety resons. My friend used to drive a bus and i talked to him about this and he told me that. But i do feel for that bus driver and for the family of ashley.

[FYI]

josh wrote:

I was right acroos the street when it happened and saw it all. It was un preventable unless ashley wasnt anywhere near the intersection. thats all im going to say because thats all that needs to be said .

So tell Us, if you were there, how fast was the bus going. Was it going at a speed that showed regard for the present danger of a child near the curb. If so, good. But for all of you that want to bash this post, why don't you watch just how slow a School Bus does slow down,,, when a danger presents itself. What you will observe is what everyone else is observing. Bus drivers are not safe drivers. They exceed the speed limit, they bully vehicles smaller than them, and they very very seldom slow down in the presence of danger. I am sorry for both the family of the little girl, and the family of the bus driver, they are the ones left behind to deal with the grief.

[SZJ]

DJ wilson wrote:

People are saying that she tripped into the intersection and the bus driver could not react quick enough to stop. Not to say the blame is on the bus driver but driveing a big bus like that you are supposed to stay at least 3 ft from the curb for safety resons. My friend used to drive a bus and i talked to him about this and he told me that. But i do feel for that bus driver and for the family of ashley.

The bus was most likely that distance. It said in the story that the girl lost control of her bike, so she very well could have ended up a few feet into the street.

[LOGIC PLEASE]

Of course you should,if you maintain any human feelings,feel sorry for the driver of the bus.

"MY FRIEND DRIVES A BUS"
Unless you yourself have a CDL/A drivers licence,
and actually drive a bus,you have no clue what it is like.

It takes a special person to deal with kids.
Most commercial drivers do not want the job of school bus driver.
That driver,who loves kids,has to deal with the horror.

[Huh]

This happened over a year ago. Let it go!

[dave of tennessee]

Huh wrote:

This happened over a year ago. Let it go!

Yeah no kiddin. Has anyone heard anything on Jordan Hensley recovery? She sent 1 email about a year ago and that's the last I heard of her.