BALLWIN, Mo. – Police are investigating after a car drove through several yards and ignored the bus stop arm near Henry Elementary School Wednesday morning.
“If kids were coming towards the bus from these houses, it could have been tragic,” Parkway Schools said on Facebook.
The Parkway School District Posted the video to Facebook Wednesday afternoon.
The incident happened along Bitterfield Drive around 8:25 Wednesday morning just as children were boarding the bus. Fortunately, the reckless driver sped past the opposite side of the bus and nobody was hurt.
The video startled Tamara Welliver.
“My initial thought was what was he trying to get away from?” she said. “I was waiting for a police chase or something.”
But she says it wasn't a surprise.
“It's not unusual for cars to speed up and down this road.”
Welliver’s neighborhood has become a pass-through for people trying to avoid highway 141. A few years back, residents worked with the city to crack down on speeding cars and make the area a double fine zone.
“It's a huge concern,” said Welliver. “We are growing into becoming a much younger neighborhood. Lots more kids.”
But what shook her most about Wednesday’s case was the memory of something that happened once before.
“We had a bus at that point have to swerve around another car that was doing something similar and ended up in my yard.”
Parkway School District spokesperson Cathy Kelly says the problem isn’t isolated to Welliver’s area. She says it such an issue district-wide, every new bus is being equipped with a camera to help prosecute drivers who ignore the stop arm.
Welliver feels the bus stop just isn’t a safe place. And she's not taking any chances with her kids’ safety.
“I drive my children to school,” she said.
And she’s got a message for the driver.
“Slow down and think.”
Ballwin police are looking for that car and its driver. Right now, they say they're working a few angles, but don't have a suspect yet.
Anyone with information should contact Ballwin police at 636-227-9636. Click here if you cannot see the video.
