PARMA, Ohio — Following a terrifying crash on Tuesday involving a Parma City Schools District bus and a woman in a wheelchair, families are calling on the district to improve its communication in emergencies.
RELATED: Woman in motorized wheelchair struck by Parma City Schools bus
The crash happened before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Broadview Road and Brookdale Avenue.
According to police, a Parma City Schools bus struck a 69-year-old woman in a motorized wheelchair, who was then pinned underneath the bus and dragged 100 feet.
Parma police have since updated us, saying the woman suffered a broken ankle bone and surface bruising. Overall, though, she's alert and doing well.
After the case was reviewed with the prosecutor's office, the fault is placed on the woman in the wheelchair, according to police.
The woman will not be cited, and no charges will follow for any party, Parma police said Wednesday.
While PCSD parents are thankful the situation didn't end worse, now reflecting on the incident, they tell me they're frustrated with what they deem is a lack of communication from the district Tuesday.
One of the first parents I spoke with, James, didn't want to disclose his last name due to a fear of retaliation for his children.
He told me his family first started to worry about their 8-year-old daughter when her school bus didn't drop her off at the time she should've been.
"She (his daughter's mom) was trying to call transportation. She called about seven, eight times in a row. It rang all the way through, and in a row too. It's almost like someone just walked away from the phone," James said.
Thankfully, due to a PCSD-supported app, Stopfinder, James is able to track his children's bus route in real time.
"I noticed that it didn't move from Broadview and Brookdale. It was just sitting there, and then our Facebook started going off about the neighborhood watch and this and that, there's an accident with a school bus, so of course I got worried," James said.
He immediately hopped in his car and drove to the location of his daughter's bus, being one of the first parents on scene.
He said up to that point, he had yet to receive any type of notification from the school about the crash, and still hadn't received one even 24 hours after it.
Another mom, Chelsey, whose son was on the bus, said she did receive a call, but not until 50 minutes after the collision.
She, too, for fear of retaliation against her kids, did not share her last name.
Prior to that, Chelsey said her husband called the transportation department several times with no answer.
She told me she was able to track down her son's location, picking him up at 5:05 p.m.
"I found the bus on my own. I didn't have any information. I found this by pure coincidence. A family friend ended up texting me, and, you know, I know accidents happen. I am a daycare director, and I have to deal with accidents all day long, you know, but this was heartbreaking," Chelsey told me over the phone. "I feel bad for the lady that got hit, you know, the bus driver kept them calm. She did a great job. The lack of communication was my biggest, just heartbreak. How hard was it to just simply pull up your emergency contact list and just send out a page?"
Parents did receive preliminary details from the district just before 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Still, worries among families remain.
"It was a joke. Like, I'm gonna be really honest, they (PCSD) knew they needed to save their butt, and that's what they did," Chelsey said.
With these concerns at the top of mind for not only Chelsey and James, but also the several other parents whose children were on the bus during this crash that I talked to off camera, I reached out to the school district for an interview.
In a statement instead, a spokeswoman outlined the timeline of events for me:
- 4:26 p.m. — Crash occurred and was called in to Parma police
- 4:30-4:40 p.m. — John Muir administrators were notified of the incident, and the principal and assistant principal immediately left the school to head to the scene.
- The principal and assistant principal arrived and immediately began contacting parents/guardians of students on the bus.
- 4:40-5:15 p.m. — Parents/guardians were contacted and arrived to pick up their children. Some parents had already arrived at the scene after hearing about the incident from their children, other parents who happened to be driving by the scene or bystanders who witnessed the incident.
- 5:15 p.m. — The final student was picked up by their parent/guardian.
- Today — Members of the district’s crisis team are at John Muir providing on-site support and interventions as needed and connecting with students and families. Most students assigned to the route involved in the incident rode the bus as usual this morning.
"We understand that the circumstances surrounding Tuesday’s bus incident may have caused confusion for some families, particularly as information was being confirmed," a PCSD spokeswoman said Wednesday. "As initial information was coming into the school, staff were notified that bus 196 was involved in the incident. Staff shared the information available at the time with families who called the school. Once it was confirmed that bus 197 was the bus involved, staff quickly corrected the information. We understand that receiving incomplete or changing information during an unfolding incident can be frustrating and concerning for families."
A total of 34 students were on the bus when the accident occurred.
"Once administrators arrived, their first responsibility was to ensure the students were safe, supported and accounted for. At the same time, they were contacting families, working with parents who had already arrived at the scene to safely sign out their children and documenting which students were released and when. I think it is important to consider the time it takes to handle all of these elements simultaneously in the midst of an active incident," PCSD told me in a statement.
James said the only information needed to check out children was names and birthdays, as he signed out both his daughter and his neighbor's son, whom he'd never met prior, but was asked to pick him up due to the crash.
Chelsey said she understands accidents happen and this situation was unique, but still wants quicker communication from the district.
"After yesterday, the most terrifying, where's my kid for 45 minutes? It killed me," Chelsey said. "I do love the school district, but we have systems in place, and they're only good when they're actually being used and, you know, maybe this MyPowerHub and Stopfinder, when it's great, it's gonna be great and it would help, but we gotta get the kinks out before the first day of school."
James said he's unable to track the bus his daughter was on Tuesday during the accident, as it seems another bus has replaced it for the time being.
Parents are encouraged to contact the transportation department with any questions or concerns regarding busing. As listed on the district's website, parents can contact Brett Campbell at campbellb@parmacityschools.org or (440) 885-2326.
