Boy struck by bus was throwing rocks, darting into traffic, according to witnesses

The 6-year-old boy whose foot was run over by a school bus Monday morning was throwing rocks at cars from the median, darting in front of traffic and essentially ran into the bus, witnesses told investigators.

Witnesses reported the child does this every day, describing the lead-up to the 6:40 a.m. collision on Las Vegas Boulevard North near Cheyenne Avenue.

The boy suffered substantial, nonlife-threatening injuries, according to Las Vegas police and the Clark County School District, which are investigating the collision.

Although the driver appears to not be at fault, policy calls for her to be drug tested and put on leave until the investigation is complete, according to district spokeswoman Amanda Fulkerson.

She is not allowed to provide details of an ongoing investigation or give the boy’s identity. She confirmed he doesn’t ride that bus, but that his bus was behind the one that struck him. He attends Manch Elementary School, near Las Vegas Boulevard and Craig Avenue about two miles to the northeast of the accident location.

Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said Monday afternoon that it was too early to determine whether any charges will be brought against any parties involved in the crash. He said the investigation focuses on the events that led to the child being near the bus before the crash and the crash itself.

Witnesses told investigators the boy – in the minutes leading up to the accident – would jump into the lane of traffic and dart back onto the median as cars approached. He was throwing rocks at cars.

It was reported that as the boy saw the bus coming toward him, he ran at it. The driver swerved toward the curb to avoid him, but the boy ran into the rear driver’s side of the bus. The boy then walked to the curb, where blood could be seen on the pavement Monday.

The collision marks the second between Clark County school bus and child this year.

On March 16, Kaylee Derks was in the street when she was struck by a school bus, which dropped her off at Ann Road and Pebble Rock Drive, near U.S. Highway 95, and was returning after turning around in the neighborhood. Investigators deemed driver Leslie Rice not at fault in the death of the 11-year-old.

A child being struck and killed by a school bus remains rare in Clark County. The Las Vegas Review-Journal could find only three cases in the past two decades.

Nationally, an average of 13 school-age children per year are struck and killed by school buses, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

More than 1,200 buses are on the road every school day in Clark County, the nation’s fifth-largest school district. They make 19,000 stops daily, transporting about 100,000 students. In one year, Clark County school buses travel 21 million miles.

Since the beginning of the 2009 school year, four Clark County School District students, and two other pedestrians, have been struck by buses in accidents the district deemed were "preventable" by driver actions, data provided by the district show.

Another five pedestrians, including three students, were struck in "nonpreventable" accidents.

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.