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Inset: Yvonne Hampton (Sumter County Jail). Background: The autobus successful Sumter County, Florida, that Hampton was driving was struck by a bid aft she allegedly ignored a railroad crossing awesome (WOFL).
A Florida autobus operator is down bars aft a bid deed a autobus afloat of kids erstwhile she allegedly ignored a railroad crossing signal, saying she was "not gonna stop" to fto the bid pass.
Yvonne Hampton, 67, faces 29 counts of child neglect, culpable negligence, and reckless driving, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
The incidental occurred Thursday day astatine the intersection of East Central Avenue and North Market Street successful Bushnell. A probable origin apprehension affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said Hampton, who was transporting 29 mediate schoolhouse students and different adult, claimed that a car up of the autobus was preventing her from afloat moving forward. But video grounds "showed it was wide the suspect made the determination to transverse the railroad tracks aft she saw the railroad informing strategy activate," deputies wrote.
As she was crossing the tracks, Hampton could allegedly beryllium heard saying "Not gonna halt for nary train." Video besides captured the panic successful the students' voices arsenic the bid approached.
"There is simply a bid coming!" a pupil is heard yelling, followed by the sounds of screaming, cops wrote.
Hampton ordered the kids to beryllium down and the bid swiped the backmost of the bus.
No injuries were reported. But Sumter County School District Superintendent Logan Brown said the incidental could person turned into a tragedy.
"When you truly recognize however adjacent this was, it's sobering," helium said successful a video connection posted online. "A substance of 6 inches is the quality successful each of this, and it could person been an highly catastrophic situation."
The territory fired Hampton, who had been a autobus operator for implicit a decade, aft the incident.
"This was her last route," helium said.
Local Fox affiliate WOFL spoke with immoderate of the students who were connected the bus.
"I closed my eyes arsenic hard arsenic I could earlier that, and I'm thankful that thing truly atrocious happened, but it could've been mode worse," Isabelle Sinibaldi told the TV station. "I was crying due to the fact that I was scared. I was gladsome that I wasn't dead. But I was besides crying due to the fact that I couldn't move."
Said Catherine Pharis: "I was successful shock. I was frightened due to the fact that each I could consciousness was the autobus determination to the side."
Hampton is presently successful the Sumter County Jail without bond.
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