
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995                   TAG: 9503300073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OTHER BUS ACCIDENTS STUDIED

The bus accident that killed a kindergartner in Vinton this week has similarities to bus wrecks that have killed five other children in the United States in the past four years.

But Roanoke County school officials don't believe it happened exactly the same way.

In each accident, a child fell and was run over by the rear wheels of the bus.

In the other five, the child's clothing or backpack snagged on bus handrails as they got off the bus, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The agency determined that the handrail was the cause of the problem.

The NHTSA investigation led nine school bus manufacturers to have safety-defect recalls, during which they modified the handrails.

In the Vinton accident, there were reports that Shayla Worley's book bag or sleeve got caught in the bus door.

Vinton police investigators are trying to determine if anything could have caught in the door. They have not finished their investigation.

Robert Woolwine, transportation supervisor for Roanoke County schools, said Wednesday he was aware of the other accidents. He does not believe, however, that Shayla got anything caught in the bus handrail.

He said the county bus is a different model than those cited in the federal safety investigation.

After Monday's accident, Woolwine said, school officials checked the handrail and found no evidence that anything had snagged on it. The handrail is a smooth cylinder with no grips or raised surface for a bag strap or clothing to catch on, he said.

``There are no sharp edges or anything protruding out, up and down the steps. We checked that out,'' Woolwine said. .

Police said Shayla, 5, walked several feet away from the bus before running back to it after she got off at her home at 467 Vale Ave.

Investigators are not sure why she ran back to the bus, although her brother said he believed she went to get her book bag.

In the past two years, the U.S. Department of Transportation has twice warned school officials, bus drivers and students that coat drawstrings, clothing and backpacks can be snagged on handrails.

Despite the recall, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena has said bus manufacturers cannot eliminate 100 percent of the risk.

by CNB