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Woman drives on sidewalk to avoid school bus

Posted at 1:31 PM, Sep 12, 2012
and last updated 2012-09-12 13:38:47-04

CLEVELAND (WEWS) – An Ohio school bus driver decided to take justice into his own hands to help police stop an unsafe driver.

Witnesses told WEWS news in Cleveland that everyday a woman would drive on the sidewalk to avoid stopping for the school bus to pick up a disabled student.

On Tuesday, the bus driver captured the woman’s wild ride his cell phone.

The video showed the driver approach the school bus, then drive on the sidewalk to avoid waiting. Police were waiting, on the other side of the bus, and pulled over the driver. She was cited for not stopping for the school bus.

Later that day WEWS reporter John Kosich went to the driver's home to ask her about the incident. The driver did not speak to Kosich, but her mother did.

"The bus,  for some reason,  takes an inordinate amount of time talking to the parent or whatever every day," said the driver's mother. "While he's doing all that we're waiting trying to get through. Now this morning, she [her daughter] was late, she was trying to get her daughter to school. The reason for going around and going to the side was to give that bus plenty of room."

The mom said even though they drive down the road every day, this was the first time her daughter drove on the sidewalk to avoid the bus. That's a claim the woman whose disabled child gets on the bus at that stop said was not true.

"She did it all last school year. I was over there February of last year she did it ever since then," said Lucy Kelley. "The bus driver didn't do it last year. But I had a new bus driver this year,  so he did what he was supposed to. I'm glad he did it. Maybe she won't go around and risk somebody getting hurt or injured."

The bus driver was credited by supervisors for his quick thinking to nab the driver on camera.