CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Parents in the Richmond area are asking drivers to be safe as their children get ready to head back to school for the new academic year.
The 2023-2024 school year begins this month for Central Virginia students, which means more buses and young pedestrians will be on the roads. Heather Dick, the mother of a rising second-grader at Gordon Elementary School in Chesterfield, says drivers need to put themselves in parents’ shoes.
“Even if you were late for work or what have you, it’s better to, you know, abide by the speed limits and drive safely, versus potentially hurting an innocent child that is just simply trying to get to school,” Dick said.
Dick said she walks her daughter to school when the weather is nice. They always stay on sidewalks, but at one point in the journey, the two have to cross a busy road.
“[I’m] hopeful that people stay cautious, vigilant, they’re paying attention and no matter what, at the end of the day, it’s the kids safety — that’s what matters most,” Dick said.
Dick hopes there isn’t another incident like what happened on Tuesday, May 9, when the driver of an SUV passed a stopped Richmond school bus and almost hit a child who was crossing the street on their way onto the bus. The driver in that incident was later fined $250.
Also last school year, on April 28, a fifth-grader at Pleasants Lane Elementary School in Petersburg was injured in a hit-and-run crash while crossing the street on his way to school. The driver, 79-year-old Robert Macklin, was later charged with felony hit-and-run.
The Chesterfield County Police Department says it has cited 27 drivers for passing stopped school buses since August 2022. The Henrico County Police Department says it handed out 77 such citations last school year.
The new school year begins on Monday, Aug. 21 for students in Richmond, Henrico County and Chesterfield County.
