KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
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Schools across the Kansas City area are getting ready for summer break, but in the meantime law enforcement in the Northland are still warning drivers to look out for stopped school buses when letting kids on and off.
Deputy Taylor Nave was patrolling 72nd Street in Gladstone, an area law enforcement says sees traffic violations daily, when he recorded a car failing to stop for a school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office shared the footage on social media to warn drivers.
"There should be no excuse as to why you run a stop sign on a bus," Nave said.
After pulling the driver over, Nave made clear what the law requires.
"You know why I pulled you over... Because the bus was stopped with the red lights, which means you have to stop," Nave said.
Nave said the behavior is not only illegal — it is dangerous.
"It's terrible that people would do this. It's extremely dangerous, and the last person anybody wants to hurt a child," Nave said.
The problem extends beyond Clay County. I have been covering similar violations in Platte County for months, where video from school buses show drivers repeatedly ignoring school bus stop arms. Nave said the frequency of the problem is alarming.
"It seems like I was surprised at how, like I said in the last question, how often this is happening, and I'm not hearing as much about it as being spoken out. That's trouble," Nave said.
In Clay County, the consequences have already gone beyond close calls. Nave described one incident where a child was struck after getting off a school bus.
"A kid was getting off the school bus and went to cross and someone went pass the school bus and clipped the kid and knocked them down. Luckily he wasn't serious injured. That guy fled the scene," Nave said.
With summer break just weeks away, Nave is urging drivers to think before they act.
"Please be cautious. Think about it if it was your kids getting off that bus how you would want other people to drive," Nave said.
A Missouri bill that would increase penalties for passing a school bus stop arm continues to move through the Senate. It is currently waiting to be returned to the formal calendar for a vote before the legislative session ends this week.
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