Story Archive

Student Safety is Job 220

School bus driver Patricia Ryan, 60, came upon downed lines in Penn Township, Pa. “The driver,” the resulting criminal complaint said, describing on-board security video footage, “can be heard speaking on the bus radio, advising that power transformers had blown and wires were down on the roadway.” Her dispatcher told her to take a detour and avoid the wires, “but she can then be seen proceeding past Walnut Street and become entangled in the power lines.” Police say Ryan told an 11-year-old student to get off the bus and move one of the wires. Tyler Cunningham returned with the wire in his hand, and Ryan asked if it was “live.” It was: “It shocked me,” the boy said. “It got me like right there, on the thumb.” Penn-Trafford School District officials demanded the bus company remove Ryan from driving their students, but the Cunninghams think she should lose her license. “What if she gets a job with another bus company and puts another child’s life in danger?” Bob Cunningham asked. (MS/WTAE Pittsburgh) ...She should never be given that kind of power again.