Teen Nearly Struck By Truck Passing Bus
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A Claypool girl narrowly avoided a tragic accident Wednesday morning on Ind. 15.
Janna Knisely, 14, was going across Ind. 15 north of Claypool to board her school bus when a semi passed the bus and almost hit her.
Knisely's mother, Johnnie, was watching her daughter cross the road. According to Johnnie, the school bus had stopped for her daughter and had the lights flashing and stop-arm up. The semi came behind the bus in the same southbound lane. It passed the bus in the northbound lane, where Janna was crossing.
Johnnie lost sight of her daughter.
The bus driver, Clelda Harreld, saw the semi and yelled for Janna to run. Janna obeyed the command and got safely in front of the bus as the semi finally came to a stop.
Johnnie said that when the semi did stop, its cab was ahead of the school bus sitting in the lane next to it. According to Johnnie, the driver of the semi honked his horn and then left the scene.
When the semi left, the bus driver yelled to Mrs. Knisely that her daughter was safe in the bus.
The driver of the bus followed Warsaw Community Schools Transportation Department regulations and checked the bus at the garage to make sure the lights and arm were working properly. The bus driver then filed a stop-arm violation with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
However, the Kniselys took the matter one step farther. Johnnie and her husband, Richard, followed the semi in their own car until they turned onto Ind. 114 and headed toward North Manchester. The Kniselys then called the North Manchester Police on their cellular phone and followed the semi until the police pulled the driver over.
A routine check of the driver, John P. Amburgey, 37, Liberty Mills, found his license was supended. He was cited for driving while suspended.
The North Manchester Police also discovered two outstanding warrants on Amburgey. The warrants were from Wabash County Superior Court for failure to appear and from Wabash City Court for contempt. Amburgey was taken to Wabash County Jail and held on the two warrants.
The Kniselys also filed a complaint with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department since the incident occurred in this county.
The Kniselys credit Janna's safety mainly to the quick thinking of the bus driver.
"I am very grateful to the driver," said Johnnie. "She told Janna to run. The driver did all she could."
Johnnie said that school officials checked on her daughter throughout the day. Janna would not ride the bus on Thursday.
The bus driver gave the kids a presentation on safety when they got to school. She used Janna as an example to teach the kids to pay attention to the rules and obey the drivers.
Director of transportation Della Swain was unsure if the prosecutor would take the charges from the parent who witnessed the incident or the driver.
Swain said all bus drivers experience drivers who ignore the cross arms.
Drivers are trained how to properly stop the bus and every incident is different. On Ind. 15, the drivers try to warn the traffic by turning the lights on for a longer time.
Swain warns motorists, "Remember, anytime you see a yellow school bus, there will be children. Expect children to be running away or to the bus. Use common sense." [[In-content Ad]]
A Claypool girl narrowly avoided a tragic accident Wednesday morning on Ind. 15.
Janna Knisely, 14, was going across Ind. 15 north of Claypool to board her school bus when a semi passed the bus and almost hit her.
Knisely's mother, Johnnie, was watching her daughter cross the road. According to Johnnie, the school bus had stopped for her daughter and had the lights flashing and stop-arm up. The semi came behind the bus in the same southbound lane. It passed the bus in the northbound lane, where Janna was crossing.
Johnnie lost sight of her daughter.
The bus driver, Clelda Harreld, saw the semi and yelled for Janna to run. Janna obeyed the command and got safely in front of the bus as the semi finally came to a stop.
Johnnie said that when the semi did stop, its cab was ahead of the school bus sitting in the lane next to it. According to Johnnie, the driver of the semi honked his horn and then left the scene.
When the semi left, the bus driver yelled to Mrs. Knisely that her daughter was safe in the bus.
The driver of the bus followed Warsaw Community Schools Transportation Department regulations and checked the bus at the garage to make sure the lights and arm were working properly. The bus driver then filed a stop-arm violation with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
However, the Kniselys took the matter one step farther. Johnnie and her husband, Richard, followed the semi in their own car until they turned onto Ind. 114 and headed toward North Manchester. The Kniselys then called the North Manchester Police on their cellular phone and followed the semi until the police pulled the driver over.
A routine check of the driver, John P. Amburgey, 37, Liberty Mills, found his license was supended. He was cited for driving while suspended.
The North Manchester Police also discovered two outstanding warrants on Amburgey. The warrants were from Wabash County Superior Court for failure to appear and from Wabash City Court for contempt. Amburgey was taken to Wabash County Jail and held on the two warrants.
The Kniselys also filed a complaint with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department since the incident occurred in this county.
The Kniselys credit Janna's safety mainly to the quick thinking of the bus driver.
"I am very grateful to the driver," said Johnnie. "She told Janna to run. The driver did all she could."
Johnnie said that school officials checked on her daughter throughout the day. Janna would not ride the bus on Thursday.
The bus driver gave the kids a presentation on safety when they got to school. She used Janna as an example to teach the kids to pay attention to the rules and obey the drivers.
Director of transportation Della Swain was unsure if the prosecutor would take the charges from the parent who witnessed the incident or the driver.
Swain said all bus drivers experience drivers who ignore the cross arms.
Drivers are trained how to properly stop the bus and every incident is different. On Ind. 15, the drivers try to warn the traffic by turning the lights on for a longer time.
Swain warns motorists, "Remember, anytime you see a yellow school bus, there will be children. Expect children to be running away or to the bus. Use common sense." [[In-content Ad]]