(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
A school bus driver in Spokane is in the hot seat after a video shows the driver going through a closed and flooded road with a bus full of kids.
It happened under the Greene Street bridge at Upriver Drive. People have been going up to the blockade to take pictures of the historic flood event, like Laura Robinson.
“It's a beautiful powerful thing to watch, but we need to exercise caution and not do things like that bus driver did,” Robinson says.
If you slow down the video frame by frame, you can see the roadblocks the bus passed. In the second part of the video, the person who shot it says the kids were getting back on the bus after moving the barricades.
“That’s so reckless,” Robinson says. “We would trust the bus drivers to be responsible with the children. Especially over here Monday, there was "water over the road" signs so I know there was adequate warning.”
Those blockades were put there for safety reasons. Just six inches of moving water can knock you down, according to the National Weather Service. Two feet of water can sweep your car away.
So how did this happen and what’s going to be done? KHQ's Katie Chen got in touch with Durham School Services. They said this video is very concerning, sending this statement:
“The safety of our students is our top priority, and we are taking this incident very seriously. When there are adverse weather conditions, such as the flooding we’ve been experiencing in the area, our drivers are alerted daily when they pick up their keys and also via our radio system on each bus. Road closures are assessed and routes are adjusted as needed. In this instance, it does not appear that the driver followed proper procedures. The driver has been put on leave pending the outcome of our investigation. A new driver has been assigned to this route.”
Spokane Public Schools says they have been in touch with Durham and Durham’s told them that appropriate actions will be taken.
Just so you know, if you do go past a barricade and are caught, Spokane police say that fine could be at least $136.