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10/03/2005 06:34:42 PM · #1 |
I was on my way home from work today, driving with the youngest two of my three children (my oldest was at home recovering from an icky stomach virus), and we were taking the same route home I've taken for the past 10 years. Out of the corner of my eye, just as I turn off the road my school is on and onto the state highway that leads to my town, I notice a little figure walking along the very edge of the highway roadside. I look closer, and notice it is a small girl, about 5 or so. She's walking up the highway, getting closer and closer to the center of the road. This is a BUSY roadway, the main artery north and south between many of the towns around here. Her back is to me, walking away headed north...the direction I am turning. As I drive closer to her and within about 50 yards of her, a white diesel 4x4 truck slams on his brakes and swerves to miss her...she walks back over to the side of the road and as I nearly have a heart attack, I call 911. I pull over across the highway and slam on the brakes, and yell for the girl to come over to me. She doesn't know me, and she's terrified, crying and screaming, and my little boy says, "Mama, she goes to my school." His school is only a PreK-K campus, so I know then that she is only 4 or 5 years old. In the 10 years I've driven this way, I've never seen a child on this road, so I know she's lost. I tell 911 what's happening as I'm trying to get the girl to come to me. She finally does, and I open the car door and kneel down to her. I asked her name, and she tells me what it is...Tatyana. I asked her where she is going and she said "trying to find my mama." My heart was breaking already. She told me, in between sobs, that the bus driver put her off the bus at the wrong stop and she was trying to find her way home. She didn't know her address, but she knew it was a county road, which indicated to me that she lived in the country. She was dropped off in the newest housing addition at the edge of town, so she had already walked a pretty far distance for a little girl. She told me her mother's name was Brianna, but she didn't know her phone number. I asked if she knew her daddy's name and she said "I don't got no daddy," and began to sob more. I looked on her little pink Barbie backpack and saw her full name, and gave that information to the dispatcher I was still on the phone with. At this point, a minister and his wife pulled over to see if they could help. We all waited there together for the police to show up. When they got there, I hung up with 911 and called the bus barn for the school district and got the girl's address. She did not have a working telephone number on file with the bus company or with her school...I called the principal and the counselor of her school to check. Finally, the police and the minister then put the child in a car and drove her to her house. The whole time my boys were very quiet and on their best behavior, sensing something important was going on. When I got back in the car, they wanted to know if Tatyana was in trouble or if she was going to jail, so I explained that she most certainly was not in trouble and that they were taking her to her mother. They were thankful that she wasn't hurt and was going to get to her house. I then drove off, watching the car ahead of me turn down her road...then kind of fell apart for a minute.
I guess I just had to share because this was so traumatic for this little bitty girl...she was lost, in the heat, on the road, nearly killed by a car, then questioned by a strange woman, a strange man, and the police... I'm sure she will be traumatized somewhat for a little while anyway.
Parents....PLEASE be sure that even your small children know their addresses and phone numbers or the address and phone number of someone you trust and can get ahold of you if need be. I kept thinking about what would happen if that was my baby walking in the middle of the state highway, lost and afraid. We've worked on addresses and phone numbers with my kids, and both carry my business cards in their backpacks at all times for emergencies.
P.S. I'm sure there will be a bus driver opening in the Terrell ISD tomorrow morning, if anyone is interested.
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10/03/2005 06:36:44 PM · #2 |
| Thank you for your kind deed, Laurie. I hope that you will be repaid in kind if ever you need it. |
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10/03/2005 06:44:02 PM · #3 |
When you have kids, these kind of stories get you. Thanks for posting.
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10/03/2005 06:52:31 PM · #4 |
wow Laurie ((((hugs)))) How traumatic. It is kinda wierd that we just "think" our kids know our details eg:phone numbers etc. But it is really something that should be constantly inforced. Which I will be doing again today. Thanks for sharing, I hope you are feeling a little better.
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10/03/2005 06:59:55 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by saracat:
Thank you for your kind deed, Laurie. I hope that you will be repaid in kind if ever you need it. |
I couldnt have put it better myself! I have to believe that the little girls mother was at home frantic with worry. Im glad you were there to help this poor little girl.
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10/03/2005 07:09:11 PM · #6 |
Laurie...what an angel you are, and someone sent you to be right there for her today. I cried when I read your story (which, knowing me, really doesn't take much :)
When my daughter, now almost 11, was in Kindergarten, they let out early one day and I didn't realize it. I was at work, but had left the door unlocked. Since she could get in, the bus driver dropped her off and then left knowing she had made it inside.
No one was home, and she knew her home phone number but no other ones to reach us - so she started walking with her little backpack to her daddy's work (about a mile from the house.)
As she was walking (and crying) a nice lady pulled over to talk to her, and then flagged down a passing patrol car. She was about 3 blocks from our house, so the deputy drove her there and pulled in just as my mom-in-law (who lives with us) also pulled in.
I got home about an hour later and when I heard what had happened I almost was sick to my stomach thinking about the possibilities! I was so grateful for that lady, as I'm sure Tatyana's mom will be for you!
Immediately I typed up a step by step instruction sheet that my little girl could understand about what to do if she got home again and no one was there and posted it by the phone at her level. Then she learned all of our cell phone and work numbers.
Some of her friends think it's funny that she's almost 11 and still not allowed home by herself for any longer length of time. About 1/2 hour or so is the longest she's here by herself. I see these tiny kids out playing in the dark at 10:00 at night and I just want to scream "Where are the parents?"
Sorry....your story hit a nerve. I'm so glad it all turned out well. Bless you for getting involved! |
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10/03/2005 07:17:22 PM · #7 |
| My daughter is 5 and just started school last month, she knows her phone number but in a tramatic situation she might not remember it. It WILL be in her backpack tomorrow, thanks for the story, and always great to hear some of the nice things that people do instead of the bad. |
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10/03/2005 07:24:32 PM · #8 |
Made me tear up for sure, Laurie. I couldn't even begin to imagine my children ever being in this situation, but if heaven forbid they ever were, I could only hope that someone like you would be there for them. :-) Thank you so much for sharing this story but more importantly for being there for that little angel.
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10/03/2005 07:37:28 PM · #9 |
I have a little girl age 4 (in feb) and as I think about this story i cannot help but think... wasnt it lucky for her that someone with your insight happened to be on that road at that time.. how many other drivers had simply driven passed, and indeed swearved to miss the child without thinking to call for help... God bless you, good hearts always prosper. I just fell in love with you.
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10/03/2005 09:05:32 PM · #10 |
First, let me say thank you. Second, I’m a school bus driver and I have a few things to say on this subject…
When I started my route I didn’t know where any of the kids went. When it came to picking kids up I drove the route and picked up any kid that was standing at the road looking like they were waiting for me (I actually picked up three kids that were supposed to walk to school) . When it came time to drop off the kids in the afternoon. I told them it was up to them to tell me where to drop them off. I drove the route and hoped they would all yell out when they saw their house. Luckily for me I have yet to have any problems dropping someone off at the wrong place. Then of course I now know where they all go.
That said…I have had one day where I had to reverse my afternoon route due to weather and road conditions. At the second stop (which is usually 40 minutes later) I noticed that there wasn’t anyone home at the child’s house. I told the child that he could NOT get off the bus and he would have to go back to the school. He was upset, but not too badly. I had some other kids that were afraid I wasn’t going to let them get off the bus either. However, for most of the kids I cannot see their house and when they get off the bus I NEVER know if there is someone at the house or not. I knew in this one child’s situation because every time before I COULD see a vehicle at the house.
We are told that if there is ever any question as to whether it is safe or not to drop a child off to err on the side of caution and bring the child back to the school.
In your instance. I’m guessing that the bus driver will no longer have a job. Unless of course there is a video tape on the bus showing that the driver had a valid reason for letting the child off at the wrong stop. I have no clue what that could be though. I have my video recorder running every day. It protects the children and myself. To do otherwise would be foolish.
I could go on, but I'm very tired from driving the ambulance and the bus over the last couple of days. I have to get up for my AM run at 4:45 AM and it's going to be after 10:00 PM before I finally go to bed tonight.
Again, THANK YOU |
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10/03/2005 09:15:59 PM · #11 |
| You are a good person Laurie, thank God for people like you. |
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10/03/2005 09:19:15 PM · #12 |
i got left behind on a field trip once in 5th grade (yeah, yeah...insert joke here). i was old enough to know my information, but it was still pretty scary.
good deed and good advice. the most amazing part is that your boys were patient throughout the ordeal :) |
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10/03/2005 09:22:38 PM · #13 |
i found a 2 yr old walking down the street in just a diaper..wasnt a highway but a very busy road. so i picked him up (actually wanted to take him home he was sooooo cute, like a lost puppy) but i went door to door then finally 1/4 mile up the road a woman said it was her grandson. The mother of the child was sleeping and the grandmother was deaf so she didnt hear the boy walk out the door. I knew the family from talk around town, i just imagined the boy was a secret genius and trying to run away. Poor kid.
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10/03/2005 09:26:53 PM · #14 |
Laurie to the rescue! Nice going. I'm so glad you were able to help the little girl. Keep working on that good karma. Cheers.
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10/03/2005 09:40:56 PM · #15 |
i am thankful for youLaurie and very sound advice.
But make sure this information (including the childs name) is written on the inside on the backpack, not on the outside. There have been kidnapping situations where the child was convinced to get into a car because the adult willing them knew thier full name (from reading it on thier backpack).
I just can't believe people would keep driving by a 4 year old walking down a highway. Where are peoples heads at??? |
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10/03/2005 09:55:06 PM · #16 |
I had the same thing happend to me and my brother when I was in second grade. A different bus driver was driving the route and decided to do it backwards. (We were always let off at our sitters house because my parents both worked.) On this particular day he stopped at my home address where we were never picked up and never to be dropped off. I tried telling the bus driver he had the wrong stop. He didn't beleive me and made us get off the bus. It happened to be freezing cold that day. We didn't have a key to our house and of course nobody was home. We new enough to stay away from strangers so we went to the back porch and stayed there until we go so cold we couldn't stand it anymore. Finally I got up enough nerve to check to see if our neighbor was home. Good thing they were they took us in and lit a fire in there fireplace right away. I just rememeber them tell me my brothers lips were turing blue. I know my parents had some words with the school after that.
I'm so glad you were able to help the child Laurie. She will never forget this. |
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10/04/2005 10:30:21 AM · #17 |
| Good job! It is good to know that there are people out there who are willing to put the time into caring. Makes me wonder how many people just drove right by. My son, who is four, has a tendency to go for walks and has done it five times this year. He now has a record with the police department and forestry departments in two seperate areas. We have been lucky to date, that no one has taken him. |
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10/04/2005 10:39:24 AM · #18 |
Wow! Thank you Laurie for being so kind and compassionate in this situation. This story could've had such a different ending. You truly were this little girls guardian angel.
I have a new son (4 months old). He's not even crawling yet, but stories like this scare the bejesus out of me. We need more people like you in this world who are caring enough to do the right thing. God Bless!!!
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10/04/2005 10:54:42 AM · #19 |
There have been a couple of times with my kids this type of things have happened. When my middle girl was in 1st grade, she fell asleep on the bus, and she was left in the bus in the bus barn to wake up screaming - and that's how they found her. The same one was also not allowed on the bus once, and she was sent home. Luckily, I was still home at the time, or she would have been sent back to an empty home. I got that bus driver fired!
So as a mom ... I always thank a fellow mom for her loving kindness and for looking out for the kids. Because if we don't keep an eye out for them and protect them ... who will? :) |
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10/04/2005 11:34:20 AM · #20 |
| I have a 4 year old in kindergarten right now. This story is touching to me, thank you for sharing and being such a good person to help her. I work 4:30am-1pm so I can pick my boy up from school and not worry about things like this. |
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10/04/2005 11:57:16 AM · #21 |
Not bus related, but one of the scariest things I ever saw was a family who was letting their kids toboggan down a snow covered hill by my house. The road itself was shut down because the hill is too steep to get up in the snow without chains. Also, there is a stop sign at a 4-way intersection at the bottom of the hill that no car could stop at if the road were icy/snowy.
You can probably imagine what happened. 2-3 year old kid on a plastic sheet slid down by itself watching the fun world around it unfold, passed the stop sign and stopped in the middle of the intersection. A big Ford 4x4 traveling down the road (not too fast) slammed the brakes, locked them up and slid diagonally through the intersection about 2 feet in front of the little kid. We were all at the top of the hill. Nothing we could have done about anything. Kid didn't seem to bothered by things. That was around 15 years ago.
That hill is actually set up for street tobogganing on the other side of it, where the whole set of streets are shut down to make it safe. Parents just didn't feel like going to the other area for whatever reason.
Oh yeah, there was a news story last week that was a major big deal in Taipei because some bus driver left a 3 year old kid in the bus all day. The child suffocated in the airtight van. The driver didn't see the kid in the back because he was sleeping.
Maybe see if your bus driver has a list of all the kids that can be checked off as the kids get off the bus. Organization keeps people watchful. That's what they used to do the handful of times I got to ride a school bus when I was a kid (city boy).
Message edited by author 2005-10-04 12:01:13. |
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10/04/2005 12:13:28 PM · #22 |
WOW! :-O
What a terrible experience for that poor little girl! It's so lucky you were there to help! I've got two girls, 4 & 7, so this story put a lump in my throat!
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10/04/2005 12:37:47 PM · #23 |
Well, if we're sharing terrifying stories involving kids...
I had a huge scare last summer while taking my daughter (who was 5 at the time) camping at a state park. I had stopped to make a picnic lunch along a road at the park, and she wanted to play at the playground across the street.
I guided her across the street, and she headed toward the playground which was about 50 feet on the other side of a small, gravel parking lot which was occupied by a small handful of cars.
As I began to gather stuff out of the trunk of the car, I heard some commotion from across the street. I looked across the road and could see a pickup truck backing slowly out of the lot, and to my absolute horror, my daughter was directly underneath the truck.
I sprinted across the street, screaming in terror to get the driver to stop the truck. Miraculously, and I do mean miraculously, the she only suffered a few broken bones in her foot as the one wheel had struck her. She had passed completely under the truck from back to front as the driver pulled out. Apparently he wasn't able to see her above the tailgate as he was backing up.
She spent three weeks in a cast, and had no psychological damage or lasting physical injuries from the episode, although it certainly haunted me for many months.
This was one of those life-changing events for me. I had always considered myself to be a pretty good dad, and I had always thought of my daughter as being an incredible blessing, but this experience certainly made me treasure her all the more. With any luck, the whole experience has made me a better dad... I'll certainly never take her for granted again!
This episode taught me that I can never let my guard down, and that I should cherish every minute with her. |
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10/04/2005 12:37:55 PM · #24 |
| I so glad that you found her, well done. |
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10/04/2005 12:51:31 PM · #25 |
I must admit I didn't realise that children as young as this were on school buses. I would be really worried about letting my young child travel alone to and from school. Although in the UK we all get fed up with the cars on the daily school run, I think I prefer it to buses. Mind you children probably have to travel further to school in the USA than most children here.
Well done, Laurie, for reacting to the situation and not just letting "someone else" deal with it.
P
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