A school bus driver in Florida has been charged after a harrowing video surfaced, capturing the panic of young children following a close call with a train at a railroad crossing.
67-year-old Yvonne Hampton drove across the tracks in Sumter County, claiming, “I can’t stop because the train isn’t coming.”
The train ended up striking the back corner of the bus, which was transporting 29 children and two adults, according to police reports.
Remarkably, there were no injuries. However, dramatic footage shared online showed children in distress as a train barreled towards them, just a few inches away from the bus.
“Just 6 inches could have made a significant difference, and it might have resulted in a catastrophic situation,” commented Logan Brown, the superintendent of the Sumter County School District.
Hampton was terminated the same day as the incident and charged with 29 counts of felony child neglect and failing to stop at the crossing.
Witness Christina Armstrong described the chaotic scene, noting that she observed the bus begin to panic post-impact in Bushnell, around 80 miles northwest of Orlando. “The bus had stopped at the tracks but then moved. I saw a car swerve into the opposite lane…I could tell the bus wasn’t advancing far enough,” she recalled.
Feeling overwhelmed, Armstrong added, “I wanted to cry. I immediately started praying because it was just too hard to watch.”
One student recounted, “It was terrifying. All I could see was the train about to hit the bus.”
Superintendent Brown commended the train conductor for his actions during the incident, referring to him as “a hero in this situation.”
Hampton, who had been with the district for more than ten years, is currently in custody at the Sumter County Jail without bail.
In response to the incident, the school district has reconfigured its bus routes, including the immediate removal of the railroad crossing where the accident transpired, and is evaluating its hiring procedures for bus drivers.
