Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The driver of a school bus that killed a Vinton kindergartner on Monday followed prescribed safety procedures and had never been involved in a mishap, Roanoke County school officials said Tuesday.
Josiah "Jay" Edwards, a driver for four years, has been placed on leave until the investigation of the accident has been completed.
Shayla Worley, 5, died after she fell into the path of the bus' rear wheels after she got off at her home at 467 Vale Ave.
Robert Woolwine, transportation supervisor for county schools, said it is standard procedure for bus drivers to be off after accidents until the investigation is finished.
"[Edwards] did everything as he should have, as far as I can determine. After getting off the bus, the child got in the yard and then she came back to the bus," Woolwine said. "I don't know of anything else he could have done."
Edwards, the minister of New Testament Baptist Church in Vinton, was given alcohol and drug tests immediately after the accident, a standard procedure, Woolwine said.
Shayla's brother said her book bag got caught in the door. Other children on the bus said her sleeve may have gotten caught, and that might have caused her to fall into the path of the rear wheels.
Investigators are testing to see if it is possible for the door to be closed with a book bag caught in it.
Police said Shayla walked several feet from the bus before running back to it. James Gallion, assistant superintendent of county schools, said children are taught never to go back to pick up papers or bags they might have dropped as they got off the bus.
"It is emphasized that they should not run back to the bus," Gallion said.
Woolwine said the kindergartner's death was the first fatal bus accident in the county's history. Indeed, it was the county's first serious bus accident in a quarter-century. Twenty-five years ago, he said, one or two students received broken bones in an accident on Chestnut Mountain.
Woolwine said county elementary pupils will receive more bus safety training as a result of the accident.
"We are asking the schools to again emphasize the need for safety on buses, especially at the elementary schools," he said.
Woolwine said the county has an ongoing training program on bus safety. Each fall, a team of bus drivers presents talks and safety videos to all kindergarten and first-grade pupils.
"We do everything we can, but what can you do to prevent a 5-year-old child from running back to a bus?" he said.
Gallion said the curriculum for the elementary grades includes materials on bus safety.
Gallion said state regulations require regular safety training for drivers. Woolwine said those sessions are held throughout the school year, and he sends memoranda on new safety rules to drivers frequently.
The Shayla Worley Memorial Fund was established by her school, Roland E. Cook Elementary, to provide support for the family. Food and monetary donations are welcomed.
Roland E. Cook Principal Deedie Kagey said the public already has shown enormous support and a "ton of donations have been pouring in."
The fund has been set up at Crestar Bank in Vinton. All donations can be sent to the school. Checks can be made out to the Shayla Worley Memorial Fund.
Staff writer Breea Willingham contributed information to this story.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB