Ariz. Boy, 10, Stable After Being Struck by School Bus

Dec. 05--A 10-year-old boy was flown to a Phoenix hospital Wednesday morning after being hit by a school bus in eastern Yuma County. The name of the victim will not be released to the public because he is a juvenile.

According to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, shortly after 6 a.m. the school bus was stopped in the 14000 block of North Avenue 74E in Hyder while the driver awaited students. After waiting several minutes for students to arrive and get on the bus, the driver resumed her scheduled route.

Unbeknownst to the driver, whose name has not been released to the public, a boy had run up to the bus as she was pulling away and was trying to catch up to the door on the front right side.

"The kid was coming from behind and started running," but "it was still dark" and the bus driver reportedly could not see the child, said YCSO public information officer Alfonso Zavala.

While he was running next to the bus, the boy tripped and was subsequently run over by the rear right tires. The bus driver reportedly was not aware she had run over the child and continued her bus route. She was advised of the incident upon arrival at Dateland Elementary School later Wednesday morning.

The victim's brother saw the boy in the road, picked him up and carried him to his home. A grandparent then took the child to Dateland Elementary School knowing a paramedic was stationed there.

Emergency personnel, including YCSO deputies and first responders with Tri-Valley Ambulance, were sent to the school at about 7:11 a.m. when they became aware of the incident. Due to his injuries, the boy was flown via a CareFlight emergency helicopter directly to a Phoenix area hospital.

"He is in stable condition and did not suffer any broken bones, surprisingly," Zavala said, noting the boy was "an extremely lucky young man to walk away from something like this."

Following an initial investigation, YCSO has determined the incident to be an accident and no citations will be issued.

As a result of the incident, YCSO is encouraging students who utilize bus stops, as well as pedestrians in general, to be cautious in the proximity of school buses.

"If a school bus leaves, go back home," Zavala said. "Don't chase school buses, don't jump out in front of them, don't get behind them, and don't play around them, because they are large and the driver can have some blind spots and won't be able to see everybody."

And even if a school bus does see a child, school buses "are heavy and are hard to stop on a dime," Zavala added.

Copyright 2013 - The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.