SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida school bus driver has been arrested on child endangerment charges after she bypassed a train crossing and was grazed by an oncoming train.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) said the crash happened on April 2.
Video from a bystander shows the school bus with 29 children and an adult on board crossing the train tracks and being grazed in the back by the crossing train. Lights are seen flashing in the video.
WATCH: VIDEO: Train grazes Florida school bus with 29 children onboard, bus driver faces 30 counts: SCSO
The arrest affidavit said the on-board video from the bus showed the bus proceeding over the tracks while a woman's voice, believed to be the driver, said, "Not gonna stop for a train," while her head moved back and forth.
The bus driver, Yvonne Hampton, was arrested and charged with 29 counts of endangering children and 1 count of endangering an adult.
“Trains don’t sneak up on people, folks. It was poor judgment and that is what led to this arrest,” Sumter County Sheriff Pat Breeden said.
No students were injured, SCSO said.
'You think you're going to die'
Isabelle Sinibaldi was on the bus when it happened. The 14-year-old said her seat belt would not release causing her to panic.
"You're stuck in the back of the bus in a seat belt and you're scared and you think you're going to die," she told Tampa Bay 28's Barrett Tryon via Zoom on Wednesday evening.
Sinibaldi said she and 28 other students, along with another adult, were screaming when the train passed inches from the back of the bus.
"I just covered my head, you know, just prayed and closed my eyes really hard. That like nothing bad was really gonna happen," she said.
Sinibaldi and other students grabbed their phones and recorded the incident. When asked why she did it, she said she wanted proof it happened.
"Like everyone was like bringing out their phones and they were like videoing and they were just like saying how crazy this is and they were sending it to their parents being like, our bus just got hit, you need to like come get us," she explained.
She and her mom now want to make sure justice is served. The eighth grader doesn't want this same thing to happen to anyone else.
"I just don't want other kids to be in our situation and it could be way worse for them if she gets back on the road with being a bus driver or even just driving at all," Sinibaldi said.
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Barrett Tryon lives and works in Manatee County. It’s his mission to connect with his neighbors and help them find answers to the issues they see every day. Use the form below to share your thoughts with Barrett.
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