Authorities in Houston, Texas arrested the 18-year-old driver who was recorded on video speeding past a school bus and nearly running over a young girl as she was trying to cross the street.
The incident happened on August 28 when Josephine Kirk-Taylor was waiting for the school bus to drop off her daughter from kindergarten. As the young girl got off the bus and started to cross the street, Kirk-Taylor screamed for her to stop as the driver sped past the bus, ignoring the stop sign.
Luckily, the girl realized the car was coming and stopped before she was struck.
"Thank God, the girl reacted to the reckless indifference and disregard for state law that is designed to protect the most precious cargo on our roads, and that's our children," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said after the incident. "If it wasn't for her self-awareness, we might have had a different conversation today."
Kirk-Taylor handed the video over the police and continued to pressure them as they tried to identify the driver. On Wednesday (September 11), Acevedo identified the driver as Julio Coreas and said he had been taken into custody. He was charged with reckless driving and faces up to six months in jail.
After the heart-stopping incident, authorities in Houston began cracking down on drivers who ignore the stop signs on school buses. In just one week, they handed out over 1,000 citations to motorists who drove past a school bus.
"We're going to continue to target people who pass school buses. Our traffic enforcement division is actually following school buses in unmarked cars, and they're calling out violations," Acevedo said.
Photo: Houston Police Department