An Indianapolis elementary school principal was seen pushing several students out of the way of an oncoming bus before the vehicle struck and killed her, authorities said.
Susan Jordan, the principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School on the city’s far northeast side, was killed and two 10-year-old children were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries when the bus suddenly lurched forward Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Buses were lined up outside the school when the accident happened around 2:45 p.m., Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Rita Reith said.
“At some point, the stationary bus lurched forward and jumped the curb. The bus was not moving at the time directly before it jumped the curb,” Reith said.
The female bus driver told firefighters she was not sure what caused the bus to accelerate, Reith said in a statement Tuesday evening. The driver also said “in the instant that the accident occurred” she saw Jordan push several students out of the way, according to the statement.
The driver and 25 students on the bus were examined by emergency responders but did not require treatment, Reith said.
Jordan, who had been principal of the school for 22 years, was loved by her staff and the school community, Lawrence Township Schools Superintendent Shawn Smith said at a news conference.
“This is a great example of an educational leader in our state and our city. … Just a phenomenal individual that truly cared about children. This is a tragic situation that we have. This loss is going to ripple across our district of 15,000 students,” Smith said.
The district canceled classes at all of its schools Wednesday and said in a statement that four locations, including a transportation center, would be “open for emotional support to our staff and families.”
Indianapolis Police Commander Chris Bailey said the bus driver, whose name was not immediately released, would be given a blood test, a standard procedure in collisions involving fatalities.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
could have gotten a better pic. my condolences.
God except her soul into Heaven bless her family and friends. Watch over the students and faculty help them through this dark hour and give them strength. In Jesus name I Pray..Amen
My thoughts and prayers go out to the principal’s family.
Hopefully school systems will use this tragic event to reexamine bus safety. This sort of tragedy should never happen again, anywhere.
how much you wanna bet some so-called “safety” system was the culprit? Think the bus has “safer” drive-by-wire like the Toyotas?
How tragic! My thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends, students and staff. The Bible says, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend.”
Thankful for the selflessness of this brave woman who put the welfare of the students above her own. Judging from her actions, she probably would never have another good night’s sleep if she had lived and kids had died. 2 issues to consider: while we take seatbelts for granted, many school buses aren’t required to have them by their states, and, was there an extra adult on the bus to keep the kids from distracting the driver – some districts do that, some don’t. It almost sounds like the driver may have stepped on the gas when she thought she was stepping on the brake. Accidents like that can happen when kids are screaming in the driver’s ear and the driver is having to supervise kids as well as drive.
This probably was the cause. Most accidents of large vehicles like buses are caused by human error not vehicle malfunction.
That would be my first guess also. I bet she had to turn around for a moment to get the children under control, then perhaps the bus rolled just a bit she stepped on the gas by mistake and when the bus lurched she pressed harder trying to stop it. It has happened many times. Sadly it was just a true accident.