LINCOLN, Maine — The 6-year-old Lincoln girl who was hit by a school bus last week told a police detective that she was hit by the vehicle’s right front bumper shortly after getting off the bus, Police Chief William Lawrence said Thursday.
Sophia Nelson, who was interviewed by Detective David Cram at a Bangor hospital on Wednesday, “describes walking in front of the school bus and never clearing the bus and getting run over from the front,” Lawrence said. “Probably she stayed underneath the bus until the bus cleared her.”
RSU 67 school bus driver Casey Voisine told police that she last saw Sophia just before the first-grader stepped off the bus, Lawrence said. Voisine “said she doesn’t recall [seeing Sophia] once she stepped off the bus,” he added.
Voisine, Lawrence said, probably won’t face any criminal or motor vehicle charges in connection with the Jan. 18 accident at Ariel and Clark Streets. The accident occurred at about 2:45 p.m.
Sophia suffered compression skull fractures, a neck fracture and a broken femur in the bus accident. Lawrence said she might be released from Eastern Maine Medical Center this weekend.
“With a criminal charge or a motor vehicle charge, you have to prove [criminal] intent, and we are not seeing intent at this point in time. We have even looked at negligence and we are not seeing it at this time,” Lawrence said.
Voisine, who was described by school officials as a cautious driver with a good safety record, was deeply distressed at the accident scene, Lawrence has said.
“This has to be every school bus driver’s nightmare. I think she is going through her own torment now,” Lawrence said.
Per standard procedure, Voisine remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the police investigation, school officials have said. Police hope to finish the investigation by early next week.
Through an intermediary, RSU Superintendent Denise Hamlin said school officials won’t take any action until police give them their investigation report. Until that happens, it’s unclear exactly what steps school officials will take, Hamlin said.
The school bus driver has probably suffered more to date than what any charges or any sort of conviction would do her. More than likely she will still loose her job or decide it would be to hard to continue. I wish her peace and the child a speedy recovery.
Lighten up and take a chill pill Accidents happen and not everyone needs to pay for it or be punished.
I agree. Unless and until more details are released I don’t think anybody should conduct character assassination of the driver. “Small town….. blah, blah, blah” isn’t really helpful, either.
more info??? what more info do you need? the child stated in her own words, that upon getting off the bus, she started to cross the st, at that point or shortly afterward she was struck by the bus. not while returning to grab something she dropped after she had already crossed. . . this shows in SOME way shape or form this driver was distracted, and while distracted he/she nearly took the life of a PRECIOUS little girl. . . . let them hang the driver out to dry
spilling a cup of milk is an accident, breaking a glass because you dropped it is an accident, not paying attention and nearly killing a child thats in YOUR CARE, IMHO is NOT an accident. this child could have been killed, and if you run the same scenerio 100 times, 99 of those times would probably result in death, it’s a miracle this child wasn’t killed. . . the driver should most definitly pay for his/her actions, or lack there of in this case.
Your just a CSI expert aint ya…
no… i’m just a parent. and this could have been my child.
and honestly what would a CSI expert have to do with this??? i’m guessing by your comment your a rocket scientist, aint ya?
I bet you’d like to see her get the electric chair for this too?
not at all, and honestly i wouldn’t want them to see jail time either… i would like for this person to have to go to EVERY bus employer in the state as a community service and out reach program and make sure EVERY driver hears this story. and maybe JUST MAYBE we can stop it from happening again.
I wonder if the bus had one of those yellow sticks on the front that swings out when the door is opened? That makes the kids walk about 5 feet out in front of the bus to get around it. Then the driver has a better chance to see a kid in front of the bus.
Hey BDN, I want a dislike button.
She should be charged the same as all other drives would be. In fact I would say given her job she and other bus drives should be held to a higher standard. It is after all there JOB to watch out for the children both around them and in there care.
In our school system the buses have a metal arm that swings 0ut from the front of the bus. The child has to go down the steps take a left and walk the distance of the arm. When they get to the end of the arm they can then cross in front of the bus because they are far enough in front of the bus so the driver can see them. Of course, this would not apply if the child is going to exit the bus on the side of the street they live on. The arm still extends but they can just walk safely to the side of the road straight ahead. We had a tragic accident years ago and a child was killed in a school bus exiting accident. I think that is why we have the arm extensions now. Very sad, so glad she is on the mend.
I didn’t see your comment but I just posted asking why Maine school buses don’t have these. At least a large portion of Maine school buses do not.
Do Maine’s busses have the large convex mirror that sticks way out showing the driver the RF bumper area? It seems that the use of one is maybe what’s needed as well as the arm.
”
we are not seeing intent at this point in time.” This comment by the police is not protect the bus driver…it is to help the school district with the inevitable lawsuit.
Negligence in criminal court is different from negligence in civil court. The burden of proof is different, too.
I have a friend who is a part-time bus driver. She is known in town for ticking people off because she will wait after a student (the younger children) get off the bus AND she sees them either walk to their parents who are waiting at the stop OR she sees them walking into their home or down their driveway. I do find it a bit disturbing that the bus driver claims she did not see the girl after she “stepped off the bus.” Not attempting to point fingers and I’m sure this was just a horrible accident, but isn’t that something they teach in training school when you drive a bus? If she doesn’t see the kids after they step off the bus, how does she know when to turn off her flashing reds and proceed?
The driver would make the best safety lecturer for bus driver training.
I am a school bus driver and when a child exits the bus it is your job to make sure there is no other distractions BEFORE you let the children off. When you have children crossing the road with other children or alone it doesn’t matter which you count the children off and when they cross the street you count the children again. If you are unsure if they are all there YOU DO NOT MOVE!!! any bus driver knows this. Our company requires that even if the kid is not crossing you are to wait till they take 20 steps in driveway before you pull away. We are also required to not allow our students to check mail etc. Im sorry but she neglected to do her job.
Your comment needs to be read by a few other commenters right about now…
I think you hit it right on. I feel very badly for her and I’m sure she is feeling like the lowest person on the planet right now. However, this could be a lesson. Hopefully she will use this as an opportunity to speak out and make sure this doesn’t happen to another child.
Is there a reason Maine school busses do not have the arms on the front of the busses that swing out which prevents this type of accident? The arm forces the children to walk a few feet in front of the bus and allows the driver to safely view them.
I don’t know why, some do, some don’t. It should be mandatory. Although, when I was a kid, we were taught to cross far away enough from the bus so we could see the driver. If we could see the driver, they could see us.
exactly the way I was taught too, put enough of these arms on buses, can’t wait to see how many kids are going to treat it like a hurdle for a track and field run…and break it…
Every bus I have seen my child get on has that arm thing I actually have seen them on busses in Orrington and Brewer..
sorry, I did not mean to post 2 times.
Voisine “said she doesn’t recall [seeing Sophia] once she stepped off the bus” This statement shows negligence. If the driver did not see Sophia then it is her responsibility to find out where she is before the bus is put into motion!! Parents put the life of their children in the drivers care and responsibility. The article says the driver is going through her own torment. What about a 6 year old girls every day life and future? What this child has to go through, as well as her family is more important than what the driver is experiencing.
Well said
No, it shows she doesn’t recall.
Unfortunately, in cases like these memory falters because of the shock.
the bus drivers memory falters, but Sophia remembers it! the fact still stands if she did not see the child once she got off the bus, duh…. she should not have moved the bus until she knew where she was.
The girl may not remember it, actually. By its very nature, shock deprives the brain of blood, which the brain needs to remember. Sometimes we fill in the gaps because we think that’s what had to have happened.
When I was 12, I was hit by a car while riding my bike. I remember only bits and pieces. I remember turning left. I remember seeing the car crest over the hill, I remember trying to speed up. Then I remember getting up from the ground, facing the opposite direction I had been riding. I don’t remember flipping or being swung around. But my rear tire was badly mangled.
I wasn’t knocked out. I had no bruises and no scrapes. But I couldn’t tell you whether I saw the car before I began to cross the street in my turn.
The woman who hit me did not face criminal charges. Nor was I cited.
Not saying it’s an easy job…But you count five kids off the bus, you count five kids out of the way before you start moving again.
Take a deep breath and then show some compassion. This accident has received extensive coverage and hopefully it has awaken other drivers to be more alert and careful, along with parents taking the time to educate their children about how to be safe as they board and exit buses. This is a sad situation that the police found no reason at this time to file charges so why should the driver pay for those drivers you cite as dangerous? Actually why aren’t you calling these offending driver’s employers to complain? I know, because it is easier for you to anonymously berate someone who has admitted making a mistake, rather than taking a stand with your name to protect my daughter, niece, neighbor or what have you.
umm… first of all you have NO idea what actions i’ve taken… as a matter of fact, NOT ONLY have i called employers of offending drivers, i have also taken pictures and video of the offense, i have called the local police dept to ask for patrols be stepped up during hours of bus opperations. i have called the company of the bus service and asked if they had video on board the bus, they don’t. i’ve requested they be installed…. i’ve taken EVERY STEP POSSIBLE. and as for not charging the driver, i’m sorry but your going to be sadly mistaken. the report has been passed on to the DA and i’m willing to bed that charges will, and need to be brought. . . as for being anonymous, i’m sorry again but your wrong. my name is Richard S. i’ll gladly give you my phone number and anything else u need to identify me. i’m not ashamed or scared of what i said. just because someone admits they made a mistake doesn’t make it right. her actions nearly cost someone ( COMPLETELY INNOCENT) their life….. thanks for your assumptions, good day =)
For all of you that think no charges should be filed answer me this… if the same bus driver drove down the Street in front of Mardens and took off the trunks of 5 cars parked at Marden’s… and one of those cars was your brand new car . Would you say oh that’s ok no big deal don’t write her a ticket Officer she didn’t mean to drive while she was distracted??? Yep folks that’s the least of the charges she should face!
How can you compare a life to a car? Why not say what if this was your kid? Probably a better approach and I didnt see in the article where it said that she was distracted. But have you ever rode on a bus full of k-12 kids? You have so many things that you have to watch and the kids in themselves are a distraction. I feel bad for both the driver and the little girls family and I am glad that she should make a full recovery and that bus driver will never be the same.
Criminal charges require criminal conduct. The police have determined there was no criminal conduct. If the girl’s family disagrees, they can seek damages in a civil negligence case.
show me in ANY report that says no criminal conduct was commited?? they’ve passed it on to the DAs office, for them to review the report and bring forward what charge(s) they deem fit… stand by and watch, driver WILL be charged
I believe there should be an aide on every bus. Having one person responsible for 50 kids behavior, safety, and safe driving is too much for one individual. Use the teacher aides to help out.
Like I always said the worse driver’s are school bus drivers. If you don;t think so just follow one around for a day or two.
Reminds me of a time earlier this season during inclement weather, school bus stopped, lets students off, but does not make sure the vehicles ahead approaching the bus were stopped (after all the law tells you to stop), she just let them off and run across the road with other vehicles slowing down but not yet stopped, the roads were getting rough, it was a 50MPH zone, who was to say these cars were to stop on a dime? I called the bus service with bus number, time and address, the guy in charge of safety was not too impressed and said all drivers were going to get a stern warning about letting kids go with vehicles in motion around the bus. I have yet to see it happen again, but some bus drivers need to get out from behind the wheel if they are not putting safety first.
“The first thing we must recognize is that crashes are not accidents.”
-Ricardo Martinez, M.D., NHTSA Administrator, 1997
Ok, so this guy (medical doctor, NHTSA “Administrator”) decides to change Webster’s definition of “accident” – we’re supposed to agree? I’ll stick with the dictionary, thanks. That was just *his* opinion.
Evidently this bus didnt have the guard on the front that makes the kids walk out into plan view of the driver. Driver and school department should be held for negligence. This should never happen. Just before Christmas I saw a bus, in Bar Harbor, almost run down a child on a crosswalk. I had lay on the horn to get the drivers attention or he would have kept on going and hit the child.
wow, such hatred and anger. I can’t imagine there are many bus drivers that take the job just waiting for a chance to run one of those noisey, busy, screaming active children under the tires of their bus!!!!
where in my comment do you see a statement saying the driver waited for an accident?? thats not what i said in anyway shape or form… when you let a kid on or off a bus YOUR RESPONSIBLE to make sure they make it either way safe and sound, driver was obviously distracted… this little girl didn’t cross the road safely than come back to grab something she dropped. she NEVER made it across the bus… WHY!?! if the driver was doing their job, they would have seen when she crossed. then left. . . if a driver, came up on the school bus with the red lights going, and was dealing with a kid in the back seat( distracted) and struck the kid as they crossed the road. they WOULD BE charged with distracted driving at the least. how is this different??? other than the fact the bus driver is RESPONSIBLE FOR SAFETY OF CHILDREN IN THEIR PRESENCE
….
and i have no hatred or anger. this “accident” or “story” touches a personal part and history in my life… so yes i’m very adiment(sp?) about this… sorry you got that out of post as well… and just for the record, i’m not trying to offend or belittle anyone in anyway shape or form. just looking for a civilized conversation, sorry if anyone has gotten anything but that…
Your spelling isn’t bad, but sentences begin with a capital and end with only one period.
Well after reading some of these comments I have two observations…
1) I pray that I am standing where I can watch you screw up when it happens and publicly fry you in front of the world.
2) Casey and anyone that is even considering driving a bus as a career will most likely decide that mopping floors at McDonald’s would be a better choice. After the accusations and armchair quarterbacking on here I don’t blame them.
Next you will be sniveling that there is a bus driver shortage.
Welcome to the 21st Litigious Century where accidents are not allowed. It just can’t be.
What a crock.
ac·ci·dent [ak-si-duhnt]
noun
1.an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occursunintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.
2.Law . such a happening resulting in injury that is in no waythe fault of the injured person for which compensation orindemnity is legally sought.
3.any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberateplan or cause.
4.chance; fortune; luck: I was there by accident.
5.a fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic: anaccident of birth.
There is the definiton, you can all stop arguing about what accident means.
To say the bus driver is not suffering, in her own way, is cruel. I’m sure she didn’t plan to hit the girl and she is probably quite torn up over the fact that she injured a child in her care. The thought that she could have killed that child probably haunts her. Hopefully the child makes a full recovery as well as the driver.
Oh B.S., I really doubt a word that you have said.
congrats, you have the right in this country to your own opionion.
If I were a bus driver I would resign today on the spot!!! Im sure that this driver didnt hit this little girl on purpose and it appears she is tore up over it. This was nothing more than an accident. I havent heard anything about the driver texting or talking on her phone so stop speculating. I wouldnt want the headache or the liability of being a bus driver. To the people that want to sting this poor lady up by her toes…maybe you should start driving your kids to school yourself!!
These drivers are strictly forbidden to use their cell phones in any way while operating the bus. I am sure with a bus full of kids and an aid on the bus, that someone would have pointed out that she was on her phone. I am pretty certain that she was not. From what I have heard through the grape vine, she never wants to drive a bus again.
After witnessing this public flogging I would resign as well. It is disgusting and you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Who wants to risk it for $10.00 hr and chances of a civil suit to boot even when cleared by the autorities..
The fact it has been mentioned in the comments would chill my blood if I were a current bus driver.
People, I’m not kidding. No one will want the job anymore.
Get you own kids to school, you are the only one fit for the task apparently.
Just the Part of “Sophia suffered compression skull fractures, a neck fracture and a broken femur ” I CANNOT begin to tell you how I would be if my child was in that hospital bed… And “Voisine “said she doesn’t recall [seeing Sophia] once she stepped off the bus,” WOW! She did not do her job & the poor Child paid..When are we gonna stop this Adults mess up Child pays.. My heart goes out to Sophia & her family. Get well soon sweetie.
I CANNOT even begin to know what I would do as a parent. Seeing your child in that hospital bed…”Sophia suffered compression skull fractures, a neck fracture and a broken femur in the bus accident.” Breaks my heart & Mama bear Would have to come out… And the fact that Voisine “said she doesn’t recall [seeing Sophia] once she stepped off the bus,” he added. WOW !! When are kids gonna stop paying for Adults BS. Hope that poor Sophia gets well fast. My heart goes out to her & her family.
There was nothing in this report that even suggested that the driver was using a cell phone. Did you read the article? Sounds like you have an ax to grind.
did i say this driver was using a cell phone??? no. i’m talking about DISTRACTED DRIVING PERIOD. wether it be a cell phone, the radio, or the kids on the bus… when your LETTING KIDS OFF OR ON. your UP MOST ATTENTION should be on nothing but the kids
You insinuated it but it’s hard to point to your words now seeing they’ve been removed for review.
yea so i noticed, i don’t see what part of that comment was deemed inappropriate?? any comments on why it was flagged?? did i say or do something wrong?
I am not a lawyer, but common sense would indicate that for there to be criminal charges brought, there would need to be criminal intent proven, so far they can’t find any evidence to prove criminal INTENT. There very well could be a civil suit brought in this case, if the parents decide to do that. If the parents won the civil suit, it would be monetary, and still doesn’t mean that any criminal act was committed.
calm down and stop yelling – we all can hear what you are saying
There is no excuse for this incompetence..