Car Strikes Man, 2 Girls Trying to Board School Bus

CUMMING, Ga. — A man and two students from the same family were hit by a passing vehicle as they attempted to board a stopped school bus here on Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred on Buford Highway near Bonnie Brea Rd. when a Forsyth County Schools bus had stopped in the right eastbound lane, with its lights flashing and stop arm extended, to pick up elementary school students, according to a post on Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.

At that moment two students who are sisters, ages 6 and 9, were being led by an adult relative, identified by the Sheriff’s Office as Jose Arturo Corejo-Nunez, to the stopped school bus from their driveway when a Toyota Camry, driven by 19-year-old Christopher Frachiseur, failed to stop for the bus. Frachiseur apparently jumped the curb and drove onto the sidewalk past the right passenger side of the school bus, hitting Corejo-Nunez and the two sisters. All three were transported to local hospitals, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The male relative was identified by 11Alive as the girls’ father and on a GoFundMe page, set up by parents of classmates of the two students, as the girls' uncle.

A spokesperson for Forsyth County Schools told 11Alive that the bus driver had opened the door, expecting to see the two students — a first grade student and fourth grade student at Haw Creek Elementary School — but they were not there. The bus had 20 students aboard at the time, and those students were taken to school by another bus, according to the news source.

Frachiseur, who was not injured in the incident, was arrested at the scene and taken to the Forsyth County Jail, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He is facing several charges, including three counts of serious injury by vehicle, driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving, and failure to stop for a school bus loading or unloading. The crash remains under investigation.

On Tuesday, an update posted on the GoFundMe page stated that the two girls' conditions has improved and that they could be released from the hospital later this week. As of press time, the page has raised over $19,000.