JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Five weeks after their school bus was rear-ended and forced to cancel a planned field trip, a class of kindergartners from San Pablo Elementary visited Jacksonville Fire Station 37 and then finally made it to the Jacksonville Zoo on Tuesday.
The bus crash left multiple students injured; four children required medical transport to local hospitals, school officials said. The incident prompted the original outing to be called off.
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Before the zoo visit, the students toured the fire station and spent time with the firefighters and paramedics who responded to the crash. For the children, it was a chance to reconnect with the people who helped them. For the crew, it offered the rare reward of seeing those they aided healthy and smiling.
“We’re used to showing up on the hard days,” Fire Chief Percy Golden II said. “Being invited back for the happy one is a gift for our crews.”
“This was such a dream come true for our little kindergarteners,” San Pablo Elementary Principal Jennifer Brown said. “Not only did they finally get to experience the joy and wonder of the zoo, but they got to reconnect with the same heroes who supported them through such a challenging day. We really appreciate JFRD for helping make today so special for our students.”
Since the incident, Councilman Mike Gay said he was working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to address some of the concerns and improve road conditions.
“Our immediate response is to check and make sure everybody’s okay and that everybody’s safe, and then waiting on the information to come into us on exactly what happened,” he said. “Then we go back to our DOT contacts to start pressing them for. What can we do? How can we put some signs up warning drivers more of railroad crossing ahead, buses, or vehicles that will be stopping. It’s not just school buses, you got your JTA, any kind of passenger vehicle is gonna stop right there.”