JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 10-year-old girl was hospitalized as a precaution Friday morning after a school bus heading to Grasp Academy was involved in a crash, authorities said.
The accident was reported about 7:40 a.m. at the intersection of Cortez and Bradley roads in Arlington.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the school bus was going north on Cortez when a car ran a stop sign and slammed into it, sending the bus into a tree.
The girl, who reported minor leg pain, was taken to Memorial Hospital to be checked, but she's expected to be OK, police said.
The other six students, between the ages of 9 and 12, were taken to Grasp Academy on another bus, according to officials with the Duval County School District. All parents have been notified.
Both drivers walked away with no injuries, police said.
Debora Powell, who lives near the intersection, told News4Jax said there's also a bus stop on the corner of the crossroads. She said she always worries about the kids out here, especially because so many drivers speed down this road, and she wants something to change before someone is killed.
“We’ve had plenty of accidents on this corner," Powell said. "This morning, we had a school bus accident and I really want something done with this corner."
This is the fourth crash Powell says she's seen at the intersection since February but she says this one is the worst.
“What are we going to do? Wait until somebody dies? That’s a crying shame. They ignore the speed down this road every night, in and out, people ramming people and going 80 miles down this road and everything," she said.
Powell said she was on the phone all morning with the city trying to get a response about what will be done to get drivers to abide by the rules.
“If a kid gets killed out here, I will be behind those parents all the way."
Nicholas McCormick, who witnessed the bus crash, agreed that the intersection is an ongoing problem.
"The troubling thing is that daily, these people refuse to do 30 mph. And every day, right where the bus hit the tree, my daughter stands at the stop sign waiting on the bus," McCormick said.
Charges against the driver who ran the stop sign are pending investigation, the Sheriff's Office said.