TROUTMAN, N.C. — An elementary student was able to jump out of the way as a motorcycle sped past a stopped school bus in Iredell County on Thursday. Iredell-Statesville Schools say it's the second incident to happen in one day. Two days later, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said they arrested a suspect.
"He honestly feared for his life," said Jada Jonas with Iredell-Statesville Schools.
Jonas said when she initially watched the video, she cringed as the student jumped away from the motorcycle. District leaders said it's an issue that’s continuing to grow; they said stopped buses are passed 40 times each day in Iredell County.
"By not stopping at a stopped school bus, you're really risking the life of our students," said Jonas. "Sadly, when we have a close encounter like this it gives us some visual footage to really kind of paint the picture for the public as to how big of an issue this is really becoming."
Data from the NC Department of Public Instruction shows more than 3,000 drivers pass stopped school buses in North Carolina every day. School leaders say all it takes is one.
"Drivers have to honor and realize that it is students on those buses," said Stephanie Sneed with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education."You need to stop when the school bus is stopping, it is absolutely imperative that that happens."
To ramp up safety measures, school leaders say they’re ensuring cameras on buses are working properly and are encouraging students to wait until drivers give them a signal before walking out. But they say the biggest factor in keeping students safe depends on the driver sitting behind the wheel.
"We mean business and we're serious about keeping our kids safe," said Jonas.
The incident happened on Carlyle Road in Troutman around 2:30 p.m. An elementary student got off the bus and was attempting to cross the street when a motorcyclist passed the bus. The student had to jump back and barely avoided the bike. The rider sped away from the scene and hasn't been caught, a statement from the NCSHP said.
The bus was stopped with its lights and stop arm activated at the time of the incident. The video shows the stop sign extended with lights flashing as the motorcycle passes.
"We want to remind our community to slow down and pay attention," Iredell-Statesville Schools said in a statement. "Driving distracted is not worth someone's life."
State troopers said a person of interest was identified, and later announced on Saturday that they made an arrest. NCSHP has now charged 18-year-old Ishmael Partida Gonzalez of Davidson. In addition to passing a stopped school bus, Gonzalez is charged with carless and reckless driving, not having a motorcycle endorsement and a registration violation. Gonzalez turned himself him and was granted a $2,500 bond.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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