Young Girl Dies After Getting Hit By Vehicle at Bus Stop

(RepublicanView.org) – An eight-year-old girl in Georgia has died from the injuries she sustained after getting hit by a car at her bus stop.

The incident occurred February 1 on Jackson Lake Road in Henry County just south of Atlanta. Georgia State Patrol officers said Adalynn Pierce was trying to get on the bus when she was struck by a Ford Fusion. The bus’s stop sign and warning signals had already been activated. They were bound for Rock Spring Elementary School, located in McDonough, GA.

The girl was flown to a children’s hospital in Atlanta after she was hit. She died from her injuries on February 3.

Kaylee Andre, 25, is now facing felony charges of vehicular homicide in the first degree. She also faces traffic charges for failing to stop for the bus and reckless driving. Andre allegedly failed to sufficiently remove ice that had accumulated on her windshield.

According to Fox 5 Atlanta, a spokesperson for the family said that the girl’s mother has forgiven Andre for killing her daughter. She even asked for Andre to be released on bail. Her bond was set to $20,000.

Alexa Wright, who said Pierce was like a younger sister, created a petition to pass Addy’s Law. If passed, it would require bus drivers to pick up children from their driveways rather than a designated spot. The petition has garnered nearly 7,000 signatures as of February 6.

An average of 121 people were killed each year in school bus-related incidents from 2009 to 2018, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data reported by Injury Claim Coach. A total of 41% of those deaths occur in the morning as children are boarding the school bus. Around 40.2% are killed in the evening. Drivers of vehicles beside the bus are responsible for 70% of those deaths.

Authorities stress the fact that a stop-sign on a school bus carries as much authority as any other stop sign. Most states impose hefty fines for drivers who ignore school bus stop signs, and some have begun equipping school buses with cameras designed to record the license plates during violations.