PENDLETON COUNTY, Ky. — A special-needs student was struck by a vehicle while attempting to board a school bus in front of his home here last week, officials said.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. on Monday, 46-year-old Lisa King was dropping her child off at school when she reportedly drove around the right side of a school bus, striking 18-year-old Sam Bryant, the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office told FOX 19. The bus was apparently stopped in front of Bryant’s house with its lights flashing and stop arm deployed, according to the news source.
Bryant was transported to a local hospital and was released with minor injuries, according to a statement from Joe Buerkley, the superintendent for Pendleton County Schools. King was charged with wanton endangerment, assault, and passing a loading school bus, FOX 19 reports.
Even though Bryant lives right across the street from Pendleton High School, his mother, Jodi Bryant, told the news source that she lets him ride the school bus because he enjoys it.
“He’s nonverbal for the most part, but he can say ‘school bus’ and he loves the bus. And so, yes, it’s a 30-second bus ride, but I let him ride it because he likes it.”
In his statement, Buerkley reminded motorists to “use caution when in school zones and when approaching a school bus." He also said that Pendleton County Schools’ buses “are carrying precious cargo” and that the district does not want incidents such as this to occur in the future.
