Indianapolis principal hit and killed by school bus
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis elementary school principal was killed and two students were seriously injured when a bus suddenly lurched forward and struck them in front of the school Tuesday, authorities said.
CBS affiliate WTTV reported Susan Jordan, the principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School on the city's far northeast side, was killed and two 10-year-old children were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to fire officials.
Buses were lined up outside the school when the accident happened about 2:45 p.m., Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Rita Reith said.
"At some point the stationary bus lurched forward and jumped the curb. The bus was not moving at the time directly before it jumped the curb," Reith said.
The bus driver was being interviewed by police but it was not clear initially why the bus suddenly lurched forward, Reith said.
Reith told CBS News Radio that the bus driver said Jordan pushed students to safety before she was hit.
"The bus driver told one of my firefighters that in the instant the accident occurred she saw the principal push several of the students out of the way of the bus so even up to the point of her losing her life today, she was there for the students and got them out of the way" Reith said.
The bus driver and 25 students on the bus were examined by emergency responders but did not require treatment, she said.
Jordan, who had been principal of the school for 22 years, was loved by her staff and the school community, Lawrence Township Schools Superintendent Shawn Smith said at a news conference.
"This is a great example of an educational leader in our state and our city.... Just a phenomenal individual that truly cared about children. This is a tragic situation that we have. This loss is going to ripple across our district of 15,000 students," Smith said.
The district canceled classes at all of its schools Wednesday and said in a statement that four locations, including a transportation center, would be "open for emotional support to our staff and families."
"It is on tragic afternoons and evenings when we are led to cry and to mourn, but it is on this afternoon that we are also reminded of the goodness of the people that respond to tragedies like this and that we are, in fact, one city. We will endure," Mayor Joe Hogsett said.
Indianapolis Police Commander Chris Bailey said the bus driver, whose name was not immediately released, would be given a blood test, a standard procedure in collisions involving fatalities.