The administrators of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) have initiated an investigation after a school bus dragged a small child at least 100 feet on Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.
Seven-year-old Ally Ehman, a first-grader at Wilkerson Elementary School, was disembarking from JCPS school bus No. 0148 in a residential area about 4 p.m. on Friday when her knapsack got jammed in the bus door.
The child was swept along a distance of almost 100 feet before the bus was put to a stop, according to Dwight Mitchell, a spokesman from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
However, nearby neighbors estimated the distance to be further than that, from a former wine store on Johnsontown Road until the 6600 block of Morning Star Way.
The school bus driver did not notice the girl until a concerned driver of a red Chevy Camaro raced up to the school bus with the Chevy's horn shrieking. The driver caught the bus driver's attention.
The bus driver, who witnesses said was female, was reported to have been visibly troubled over the affair.
After suffering from severe road burn, the little girl was immediately taken to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment, according to Mitchell.
Ehman was released from the hospital on Sunday.
Ally's mother, Amy Rednour, is very thankful to the people who went out of their way to halt the bus and accompany her daughter during the incident. Amy says her daughter continues to smile and is in great spirits.
In a Facebook post, Ally's mother wrote: "I just wanted to say thank u for all the support and concerns and prayers, but please keep them coming as it is going to be a long road for her & myself!"
Although Ally has gotten out of the hospital, she still needs to recover from her injuries, says Amy.
The LMPD's Third Division police officers are also probing the incident.
Phone calls to the bus drivers' union president, John Stovall, were not returned. It was uncertain when the investigation would be concluded.
Surveillance video below from neighbor Tom Carman's residence displays the child being dragged along the ground, dangling from the door of the school bus. Carman cannot believe how the driver, who sat only feet away from the bus door, did not notice the little girl.
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