A routine Friday morning bus ride in Marietta turned frightening just before 7 a.m. when an allegedly impaired driver slammed a pickup truck into the back of a Marietta City Schools bus, sending two students to the hospital and kicking off a quick police search for the suspect.
Authorities said one child reported numbness in their legs and another suffered severe neck and back pain after the crash. Officials told reporters the children are expected to be OK, but the injuries were serious enough to warrant immediate hospital transport.
According to WSB-TV, the collision happened along Cobb Parkway near North Marietta Parkway when a pickup struck the rear of the school bus. Marietta Police spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy told the station, “That school bus was full of children. The driver panicked and immediately left the scene.” Officers later found the pickup a few miles away and took the driver into custody.
School bus safety and the law
Georgia law requires drivers to stop when school buses are loading or unloading students. That obligation is spelled out in O.C.G.A. § 40-6-163, which also details how violations are reported and enforced. Marietta officials publish guidance on bus safety and the use of stop-arm cameras to protect students and document violations. Taken together, those rules mean that drivers who hit a bus and leave the scene can face criminal charges along with possible civil penalties where applicable…