Campus Tragedy Averted
by Mattlee Davis

An out-of-control school bus en route to pick up school children, plowed into a tree nearly hitting a security guard. On the morning of March 12, about 600 elementary children gathered for entertainment at the Performing Arts Center (PAC). When the show had ended, several buses were en route to pick up the children.

Sergeant Dwayne Whitaker prepared to guide the buses to the pickup spot. Around 11:10 a.m., the first bus entered the campus, drove around the sculpture near the A-building, when the driver suddenly lost control. “I was in position for him to stop. The vehicle slowed down and suddenly accelerated. It was literally coming towards me,” said Whitaker. Without much time to think, he leapt out of the way of the oncoming bus.

As it sped past him and careened up a hill, it became apparent that the danger was not over.

“Near the gate was pretty occupied with college students. I yelled to the students to get out of the way,” Whitaker said. The bus slammed into a nearby tree, knocking it square off it's roots and onto the ground.

After looking for any injured pedestrians, Whitaker ran to the wrecked bus to check on the driver, whose name is being withheld. “I opened the door and he looked like he was in shock,” he said. The sergeant yelled to the driver to cut the engine. The shock of the accident seemed to deafen any words that he was saying.

“He didn't understand me at first, but he said he was okay.”

He called it in over his radio, and police were soon on the scene. They secured the area to prevent anyone from walking down the path, and allowed no one the leave the PAC.

“The bus driver said he was coming to a stop, but [the bus] self-accelerated,” said Michael Lederhandler, director of Public Safety. “It was probably a mechanical error. According to the driver, he jammed on the brake.”

But Lederhandler took precautions to make sure the driver's story was true. “To be honest, I got very close to the bus driver to see if he was intoxicated or if there was any drug use,” he said. “I didn't smell anything; his eyes were perfect. There was no indication of intoxication.”

According to the officers, once the driver realized the vehicle was out of control he maneuvered the vehicle into the tree to avoid hitting pedestrians.

The vehicle had been in use for many years. “I wouldn't [use it again]. But it's up to the company to decide what to do with the bus,” he said. The Performing Arts Center hosts a number of events and is a big attraction here at Kingsborough. A number of schools visit the PAC to see its many cultural events and plays like Peter Pan and Max & Ruby from the Children's Theatre Festival.

According to the officers, the schools contact different bus companies who drop the kids off at the campus and return about two hours later to pick them up. Luckily, no injuries were reported and after quite a scare, Whitaker could breathe a sigh of relief for another day on the job.

“I'm just happy no one got hurt,” he said. “If I waited a little longer, I probably would have been hurt.”