Macon, GA – Jill Soltis was injured in a school bus accident in Macon on Thursday, October 15th, 2015. The accident happened around 8:00 am.
56-year-old Soltis was driving a 1991 Ford Explorer westbound along Mumford Road when the Bibb County school bus turned in front of the SUV at Case Street. The impact caused the Ford to roll over.
69-year-old Mary Deshazer, driver of the school bus, allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way because the sun was in her eyes.
Two students were on the bus, but only Soltis sustained injuries in the collision. The extent of the injuries is not available.
Authorities are looking into this accident.
Area Near the Accident
Commentary:
We’re not given a few details that might be helpful in this story. We know the school bus apparently failed to yield to the SUV and turned in front of it. It looks like the intersection has stop signs on either side of Case Street. So only the traffic on Mumford proceeds without stopping, which is why we don’t see any mention of the vehicles involved stopping at the intersection.
My main issue is that, as a bus driver, you travel the same route every morning around very similar times. I’m sure it becomes easy to operate on autopilot, but especially in a time of a year where the recent time change has possibly impacted visibility on the street, you should be hyper vigilant to keep yourself, your students, and other people on the roadways safe with your actions.
I don’t mean to be harsh, but that excuse just isn’t one that holds water. If your visibility along the roadway is altered by weather or seasonal changes, you drive with caution. I’m not picking on bus drivers or public servants. Accidents certainly happen, and driving conditions can’t always be ideal. I just know when your job is to maneuver a large vehicle, with passengers abroad, from Point A to Point B safely, you better do everything in your power to make sure that happens. When it doesn’t someone has to be held responsible. I hope through investigation that’s able to happen.
— Grossman Law Offices
