ANDERSON Co., SC (WSPA) — A mother was hit and killed moments after her child boarded a bus in Anderson County.
Authorities say the crash happened around 6:40 a.m. Monday on 1st Avenue in Starr.
Coroner Greg Shore said a 16-year-old Crescent High School student got on the bus. The student’s mother was talking to the bus driver in the lane of travel when she was hit by a man on his way to work.
Shore said the woman died at the scene of the accident from blunt force trauma.
Trooper Joe Hovis said the victim is a 46-year-old Starr woman. He said she was struck by a vehicle traveling west on 1st Avenue.
The driver is a 38-year-old Starr man. He was taken to AnMed Hospital with minor injuries, Hovis said.
Anderson Co. Coroner Greg Shore said the bus video shows the student take her seat and the door closes. The bus’s emergency lights shut off because the lights are only on when the door is open.
The mother then walks into the road and talks to the bus driver, according to Shore.
The coroner reports the driver said he saw the emergency lights and slowed to stop, but when they went out – he continued on.
Eighteen seconds passed between the emergency lights going off and the collision. It was also dark and foggy Monday morning, according to Shore.
Anderson School District 3 Superintendent Kathy Hipp confirmed there was a fatal accident at one of the district’s bus stops. Hipp said any student directly or indirectly affected by the accident will be offered counseling and support according to the district’s crisis plan.
The crash remains under investigation by the SC Highway Patrol.
