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Euclid City Schools administrators defend driver after video shows railroad gate come down on bus

Posted at 6:34 PM, Jan 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-17 18:34:30-05

Euclid City Schools administrators are defending one bus driver after a railroad gate came down on top of a bus filled with kids Wednesday morning. 

A mother captured the video on her cell phone.

A railroad gate came down on top of a school bus filled with students. The driver couldn't back up because there was a line of traffic behind the bus.

Euclid School Superintendent Charles Smialek said that, according to Ohio Revised Code, the driver is required to visually check the tracks for the train, open the doors and listen for the train and in order to do so the bus driver had to go past the markings.

That's when he said the gate came down on top of the bus. 

Smialek said school officials took another bus out right after the incident and reenacted the situation.   

"We realized for the bus driver to do that, he had to get into the zone to get a vantage point," he said. 

Norfolk Southern Corporation spokesperson Jonathan Glass told News 5 in a statement: 

Because railroad crossing signs and pavement markings at railroad crossings are designed to control motor vehicle traffic, the placement of signs and pavement markings at a crossing is the responsibility of the local or state road authority – not railroads. If local residents have a concern that the pavement marking is too close to the crossing, they should contact the city, county or state road authority to investigate the matter.

Smialek said they believe the driver followed proper procedure. All the children are the bus were uninjured, according to the school.