KALAMAZOO, Mich. (Feb. 26, 2014) — Some parents in the Kalamazoo Public School District are upset after seeing video of a bus bouncing off a snow mound in a residential neighborhood with kids on board.
“When I saw the video, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh were my little ones on there?'”said Anna Liisa, a concerned parent.
The video began spreading like wildfire on Facebook causing parents in the Kalamazoo Public School District to sound off.
It clearly shows a KPS bus driving down a residential street, and then rounding a corner, then bouncing off a snowbank, throwing snow into the driveway of a nearby resident.
The bus seems to slide a little before it hits the drift with the kids bouncing around inside.
It was all caught randomly on a homeowner’s security camera.
Anna Liisa says her children told her they were on the bus the day it hit the snow.
She feels it’s a symbol of a larger problem.
“I can tell you that they are not driving slow and steady,” said Anna Liisa. “Some of them you know, fly around here, and they just act like they don’t care.”
She and at least two other parents we talked to said that they have complained about the speed off buses in the Northgate neighborhood before, but it’s fallen on deaf ears in the school district.
“Calling with a concern doesn’t do anything. It actually makes it much, much worse,” said Anna-Liisa.
On Facebook parents posted on threads wishing this video would go viral so something would be done to prevent this in the future.
We contacted KPS Wednesday.
Executive Director of Communications Alex Lee issued a statement saying, “We have identified the bus involved in the video and reviewed the GPS information at the time of the incident. The driver was not exceeding the speed limit…”
Alex Lee went on to say, “The transportation director will review winter driving cautions and procedures with the driver involved.”
As for the GPS information that the school said proved that the driver wasn’t speeding, Anna Liisa doesn’t believe that tells the whole story.
“Too fast for the conditions is what the case is. We all know when there is ice out we have to slow down,” she said.
We asked Lee for an on-camera interview.
However, he declined, saying it was his opinion that the situation didn’t warrant it.
Anna Liisa gave us her opinion on Lee’s.
“I think they need to get aware of what is going on,” She said. “Because, it’s not just one person. It’s not just one driver. I’ve been here for 6 years witnessing what’s happening at the bus stop.”
She also said she wished that the school district would work with the Northgate neighborhood to change the location of the bus stop so it was safer for children to walk home.
Anna Liisa said there were no sidewalks in the development and kids walking home in the street is a concern as well.
Two other parents that we talked to that live in the neighborhood also said they had previously complained to the school about bus drivers that were going too fast through that residential area.
