What This Story Is About
- A Farragut school bus driver and a Maryville police lieutenant are warning drivers to stop for school buses as the new school year begins.
Why It Matters
- A family member of the bus driver was killed by a driver who ran a stop arm, and the driver says violations happen on her route every single school day.
- Maryville’s traffic unit will continue targeting known problem areas, and both the driver and officer are pushing for exterior bus cameras to create consequences for violators.
For Context
- Tennessee law requires all traffic to stop for a school bus on two-lane roads and four-lane roads with a center turn lane — violations can result in citations.
Catch Up
- Patty Braden, entering her fifth year driving in Farragut, shared the story of Morgan, a nearly 16-year-old family member killed at a bus stop, to put a human face on a law enforcement issue Lt. James Long says his unit takes seriously from day one of school.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -A Knox County school bus driver who lost a family member to a stop-arm violation is speaking out as students return to class, saying drivers ignore her flashing red lights on a daily basis. Maryville police are also stepping up enforcement, with officers already targeting known problem areas on the first day of school.
‘If they just would have stopped’
Patty Braden is entering her fifth year driving a school bus in Farragut. She said the responsibility of transporting children weighs on her every route — in part because of a personal loss.
A family member named Morgan, who was nearly 16 years old and had earned a spot in an orchestra scheduled to perform in Austria, was killed when a driver went around a school bus stop sign as she was running to catch her bus.
“If they just would have stopped — if they just would have stopped — then Morgan would still be here today,” Braden said…