(CNN/RNN) - At least five crashes across the nation this week have hurt or killed children and adults at school bus stops - one week after National School Bus Safety Week.
Many of the accidents are the result of drivers going around stopped buses that have their lights on and a “stop” sign arm on display. The latest two high profile accidents happened Thursday morning.
Police said a 7-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Franklin Township, PA. In that instance, a bus driver pulled up to the stop at 7 a.m. to pick up the boy and discovered his body.
Police have since ruled that the child “was run over at a slow speed." They said they obtained a search warrant for a vehicle that was in the area at the time and had interviewed the driver.
Update: Investigators have ruled out that the child was struck by a passing motorist who then fled. Evidence has shown that the child was run over at a slow speed. A search warrant was obtained for a vehicle that was in the area at the time. The driver has been interviewed.
— Troop G (@PSPTroopGPIO) November 1, 2018
Another incident occurred Thursday in Tampa, where five children and two adults were hit by a car while waiting at a school bus stop.
Police said one of the children is in critical condition. A driver is in custody.
In Mississippi, 9-year-old Dalen Thomas was killed Wednesday morning while walking to his school bus, WMCTV reported.
The Baldwyn School District said the bus was properly stopped when it happened. Hunter Newman is facing charges of aggravated assault.
In Kentucky, police are looking for the driver of a car that struck two boys Wednesday morning.
Louisville police said the 11- and 13-year-olds were crossing the street to get to their bus stop when they were hit. At last check, the two boys were stable.
In Rochester, IN, the school district is relocating the bus stop where three siblings were killed after being hit by a pickup truck.
The driver, 24-year-old Alyssa Shepherd, faces three counts of reckless homicide and a misdemeanor of passing a school bus with the arm extended.
The week of Oct. 22-26 was National School Bus Safety Week, according to the National Association of Pupil Transportation.
Every state has a law making it illegal to pass a school bus with its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended that is stopped to load or unload students. according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Board. Yet motorists illegally passing school buses remains a big safety issue.
The week after School Bus Safety Week, we're up to our third school bus-related tragedy. It's not that hard. Buses are those big yellow things on the road and they tend to have lots of children around them. #DriveSafe https://t.co/WKLtlEycpL
— Charles Johns (@D33Supt) November 1, 2018
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