ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Parents in the North Hills School District said they’re outraged after they weren’t immediately contacted when their children’s buses were involved in a bus accident.
"Why wasn't anyone called? Why weren't those kids at least checked out?" parent Daveen Gray, said. "Very upsetting. I'm angry. (I’m) very angry, and I know a lot of parents that are very angry."
Channel 11 News learned the accident happened Tuesday at the intersection of Rochester Road and Perry Highway not long after school let out for the day. A Snapchat image of the aftermath showed one bus with its windshield spider-webbed and a mirror shattered.
According to district officials, one of the buses clipped the mirror of another. The mirror shattered and went flying through the windshield. The other bus' mirror shattered on impact, sending glass shards through the windows and onto the first two rows of students.
Gray's 14-year-old son, Mitchell, was on board one of the buses.
"The whole bus was vibrating. So that's what made him stop doing what he was doing, and it scared the heck out of him,” Gray said.
Gray said neither police nor paramedics were called to check on students, and the bus drivers continued on their route. The district sent home a letter informing parents of the incident on Wednesday.
ABC Transit, the school bus company contracted through the district, told Channel 11 News that the drivers followed proper protocol. The bus driver said they checked on students, radioed in to supervisors and got the go ahead to keep moving on their routes.
North Hills School District Superintendent Patrick Mannarino released the following statement in regard to the incident:
"Student safety is paramount and my top priority. As our relationship with ABC Transit evolves, I will continually reiterate our expectations regarding student safety and district protocol and procedures."
Channel 11 learned every ABC Transit bus has three cameras inside and one exterior camera that faces outward. District officials did not release the video.
Bus drivers were retrained following the accident, and the two drivers involved in the incident are back on the road, ABC Transit officials said.