A New Windsor mother who captured what she feels is reckless driving by a school bus driver is reaching out to News 12 for help after she says her concerns have not been addressed for months.
The parent, who asked not to be identified, shared several videos showing a small school bus turning in front of a full-size bus while its red lights were flashing and stop arm extended. She says it keeps happening at her children’s bus stop at Vails Gate Heights Drive and Old Forge Hill Road and believes it puts students at risk.
“They stand by one stop sign and they’ll cross the street to another. That’s what makes it so dangerous,” the mother said.
She told News 12 she contacted the bus company, police and the Newburgh Enlarged City School District several times but felt nothing was changing.
After News 12 began making calls, police in New Windsor said the maneuver is allowed under New York law because the smaller bus is not technically passing a stopped school bus.
A representative for the Newburgh school district also told News 12 the district reminded all bus drivers to use extra caution at intersections where buses are stopped with red lights on.
“Our transportation department has asked all companies to stop at intersections from all directions if red lights are activated on a school bus," said a district spokesperson.
The bus company involved, George M. Carroll Transportation, told News 12 the turn does not violate company policy.
According to the National Safety Council, school-bus-related crashes killed 128 people nationwide last year, with most of those deaths happening outside the bus in areas safety experts call “danger zones.”
“I feel like somebody had to say something otherwise somebody can get hit,” the mother told News 12.
The concerns come after months of other school bus incidents across the Hudson Valley — including video of reckless driving and cases where children were hit by buses in Rockland County.