"He Shouldn't Have Been Driving"

DAYTON, Ohio (Sept. 12, 2007) — There was little that could have been done to prevent the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz from speeding around a school bus at an estimated 75 mph on a country road with a posted 45-mph speed limit and striking and killing Jullian Hill. But Randy Hinton, transportation supervisor at Jefferson Township Public Schools, still wants to make his fleet safer.

“We did everything right,” Hinton said shortly after a meeting with his 12-driver team. “Now we’re just dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s .”

This will mean adding a third in-service training before Thanksgiving. Even though the driver of the school bus did everything right, the training will likely include a review of safe loading and unloading procedures.

Last Friday afternoon, Julian Hill, a 17-year-old high school junior, exited from the school bus stopped across the two-lane road from his home. The stop arm was extended and the amber lights were flashing. After being waved across by the driver, Julian started walking. A few hundred yards behind, a black 1997 Mercedes crested a hill and sped around the school bus, striking Julian before careening into three trees and a utility pole. Julian died immediately.

“The hill was not the problem. His excessive speed was the problem,” said Major Greg Laravie of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, adding neighbors have repeatedly reported speeders on the road.

It also appears the driver had a poor driving record. According to the Dayton Daily News, the driver did not have a valid Ohio license because he failed to pay for damages resulting from an accident in Maryland in 2000. Additionally, the newspaper found the driver had his license suspended three times in the last decade and received 15 moving violations since 1990.

“He shouldn’t have even been driving,” Hinton said.

According to the National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey, Ohio’s last unloading fatality occurred in 2004. In that incident, a 5-year-old boy was killed by a vehicle that also ignored the flashing red school bus lights.

Hinton said he and the county sheriff’s department are working together to inform drivers about safe driving around the school bus.

On Monday, a Montgomery County Judge charged the driver of the
Mercedes with vehicular homicide and set bond at $100,000. A grand jury will decide later this week whether the driver will be tried. A memorial for Julian was planned for Saturday, Sept. 15.