JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind — Changes for student safety are being made after a dangerous morning at the bus stop in Johnson County.
Parents say it was a near-tragedy Wednesday, as 15 Center Grove kids narrowly missed getting hit by a dump truck.
It happened right near a portion of I-69 that's under construction in Johnson County, on roads used much more frequently now by construction crews working on the highway.
"It's daily. They're constantly here," said mom Katie Mardis, who was with her daughter at the bus stop. "They fly around one corner, shoot straight, fly around another corner."
Mardis and several other Center Grove moms witnessed a near-collision with their kids Wednesday around 7:50 a.m.
"He sped up and came in the parking lot toward all of us," said mom Paige Posey, who was with her two boys at the bus stop.
"He just flew around that curve and either didn't care, didn't notice? But I mean how do you not notice a yellow bus stopped, flashing lights and 15 or so kids out here?" Mardis said.
Near the Oak Meadows community, off Stones Crossing and Old 37, students cross the street to board the bus.
To help with safety, the bus driver, parents say, usually tries to park toward the middle of the road to better shield the kids from traffic.
When it stopped Wednesday, with lights flashing, moms say a dump truck with a maroon cab and a black dump bed nearly took them out.
"Around right here is where he cut over and then came straight down and around this curve," Mardis pointed out. "My instinct was to start grabbing kids, grab my daughter. We're screaming."
"He didn't even try or attempt to stop. He just hit the gas pedal," Posey added. "And he was going so fast, we couldn't even get the license plate."
Posey's youngest, her 5-year-old son, was inches from serious injury.
"My son was half a step from being sucked in the tires of that dump truck," she said through tears. "He was half a step from going in those tires."
Posey filed a police report and called the transportation department for Center Grove Schools.
13News followed up with school leaders and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, as well.
After looking at onboard video, Center Grove said there was no stop arm violation in this case because the bus driver hadn't yet extended the sign. Lights were flashing, indicating driver should prepare to stop, but the bus driver didn't have the actual stop arm out when the dump truck sped around.
However, the district is now taking action to reduce danger in that particular area.
School leaders said they're changing the bus stop, as of Thursday morning, so kids no longer have to cross the street.
The bus will turn around and pick them up on the return trip, on the parking lot side so they won't have to worry about traffic.
Also, sheriff's deputies met with I-69 inspectors about the incident, who plan to have a meeting, asking construction crews to slow down.
Moms want that, too.
They say a near-miss with children is still way too close.
"Slow down before you take the life of someone's kid at a bus stop," Posey said. "Just slow down."
