KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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Ashley Pierce's 8-year-old daughter, Addy, was struck and killed by a driver who illegally passed a stopped school bus. Pierce channeled her grief into advocacy — and her fight in Georgia is resonating with a push for change in Missouri.
"My daughter Addy. She was only eight years old when she was getting off her school bus… when a driver illegally passed the stop school bus and hit her," Pierce said.
The bus was stopped and its stop arm was deployed when Addy was struck. She did not survive.
Nearly 2 years later, Pierce says the weight of that loss has never lifted.
"In a moment, our entire lives were changed," Pierce said.
"Before she even started kindergarten, all that girl wanted to do was ride that school bus like it was just part of going to school that she looked forward to," Pierce said.
Two months after Addy's death, Pierce and her family introduced Addy's Law in Georgia, pushing for harsher penalties for drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses. The stop-arm violation penalty in Georgia was set to a minimum of $1,000.
"There's no excuse why we just can't make this safer. And in that we also added we decided to fight for harsher penalties for passing the stop school bus," said Pierce.
A similar effort is now moving through the Missouri Capitol. House Bill 2742 would bring first-offense violations to a minimum of $500. The bill is currently being refined in the state House before it continues to move forward.
Our reporting on illegal school bus passing in Platte County caught the attention of a Missouri lawmaker, who proposed the bill to make penalties harsher for drivers who break that law.
For Pierce, hearing that action is also being taken across the country gives her a sense of relief.
"When I hear your story about what's going on Missouri, it really just it makes me feel like my fight here in Georgia how we turned our tragedy and pain into something positive," Pierce said.
She says the stakes could not be higher.
"My daughter's life mattered. Addy's life mattered. Even one driver to stop for a school bus tomorrow means something to her legacy," Pierce said.
You can follow the stop-arm proposed bill here.
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