VIDEO: Ky. student nearly hit by SUV while getting off school bus

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - A driver is facing charges after a student was nearly hit by a vehicle while getting off a school bus.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says it happened on September 19 on Louisville Road as 14-year-old Travis Mason was getting off of the bus.

The school bus’s camera recorded the horrific scene. Video from inside the bus shows Mason getting off the bus on Louisville Road. A split second after he gets away from the bus, the vehicle goes by:

Superintendent Mark Kopp says the stop arm was out and the lights were flashing, but the car continues to drive by.

“School bus stop arms are there for a reason. And we can’t have people putting convenience over safety. And, unfortunately, that is what happens,” said Kopp. “When someone makes a decision that their busyness or whatever their reason for going around a bus, it has incredible consequences and it almost did for us.”

The driver of the car, Mark Kendall, of Lexington, was charged with improper passing and passing a loading or unloading school or church bus.

Travis’ parents don’t think that is severe enough because they say their son was nearly killed. The sheriff says more charges are possible and that it’s still under investigation.

School officials want more charges also.

“To the fullest extent of the law. We have to because people have to understand there are consequences for your actions,” said Kopp.

This wasn’t an isolated event either. Franklin County School Transportation Director Brad McKinney says, during a recent national study of bus stops, they were told of 18 cases of people ignoring the stop arms in the county.

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