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Parkway bus driver: 'It could have been a bad tragedy'

Mike Dickemper said the incident last week left him shaken. He had just picked up three kids on Bitterfield Drive in Ballwin when a driver of a car went around Dickemper's bus, ignoring the stop arm.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — Every morning and every afternoon, Mike Dickemper checks his school bus before he leaves for his route.

He tests the lights, the horn and the back door.

“Make sure everything’s working properly before you take off,” Dickemper said.

He has been a bus driver in the Parkway School District for five years and said he knows how important his job is.

“Getting kids to and from school safely, on time. Mostly the safety,” he said.

Dickemper said the incident last week left him shaken. He had just picked up three kids on Bitterfield Drive in Ballwin when a driver of a car went around Dickemper’s bus, ignoring the stop arm. It was captured on a camera on the side of the bus.

“It’s something I’ll remember the rest of my life,” Dickemper said. “This guy had no concern whatsoever, like, he floored it and kept going.”

The driver of the car, Matthew McCloskey, was arrested and cited. He previously told 5 On Your Side that his brakes failed. However, records show he should not have been driving at all. His license was suspended. 5 On Your Side reached out to him again for comment, but he would not return our phone calls or text messages. He is scheduled to appear in Ballwin Municipal Court in two months.

Dickemper said if the incident had happened a minute sooner, a child could have gotten hurt.

“Good thing nobody got hurt,” he said. “It could have been a bad tragedy.”

Dickemper said what happened last week was the worst experience he’s had on the school bus. But, he said, drivers often ignore the law.

“When the stop arm goes out, I have several every day, run right through it, as it’s coming out,” Dickemper said. “If you can’t spare a minute and a half of your time for someone’s life, you don’t belong behind the wheel.”

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