Boy Hit by Bus Had Signal Prior to Crossing
Authorities in Wisconsin recently announced their investigation into an incident where a 12-year-old boy was struck by a bus last week revealed the young middle schooler had been given a signal to cross before he was struck by the school bus.
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“At a news conference Wednesday morning, Police Lt. Jamie Graff said Justin A. Johnson, a 7th grader at Riverview Middle School, was walking home with friends Sept. 6 when he pushed the crosswalk signal at the corner of E. 2nd St. and Crooks Ave. As Justin entered the intersection, a school bus turning left onto E. 2nd St. hit Justin with the front of the bus,” an article by WBAY reads.
The driver of the bus, who was identified by police as Anthony Ritacco, 61, of Appleton, has reportedly been employed by Kobussen Buses, Ltd. for three years and has 30 years of school bus driving experience. Police have said that Ritacco has a clean driving record.
Ritacco reportedly had a green light–but not a green arrow–and was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before he turned left.
“He turned and didn’t see Justin,” Graff said. “He remembers taking a look into the crosswalk, taking a look to his left. He remembers seeing a group of kids on the sidewalk, but didn’t see anybody in the crosswalk. He heard a thump, and he didn’t know what that was. He thought maybe it was his antenna up above, but he wasn’t quite sure as to what happened. He continued down the road. He wasn’t sure what happened, and somebody flagged him down, and he stopped.”
It could take a few weeks while the Outagamie County District Attorney’s Office is waiting for toxicology reports from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab. The District Attorney’s Office is reportedly waiting on that report before making decisions on possible charges. Kaukauna Police say they do not believe Ritacco’s actions were in any way criminal.
“Graff says police have been working with the community, businesses and the school district to come up with alternate routes and safety precautions in the area. He says parents have been concerned about increased traffic due to the closure of a nearby bridge,” the article reads.
New safety measures include:
- Adding a crossing guard at the intersection.
- Making green turn arrows longer.
- Expera is altering its shifts to reduce traffic in the area as kids are getting out of school.
- Lowered speed limit and speed bumps at the 1st Street alley drop off.
