Cecil County Police searching for driver who flew past school bus, nearly hitting two children

The Cecil County Sheriff's Office is searching for the person responsible for speeding by a school bus on the right-hand side, narrowly missing two children who were getting on.

"If they would have took two or three more steps closer, they would have been hit," said Brandon Stewart, whose 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece are seen in the heart-stopping video.

It happened on Route 273 in Rising Sun, barely making it between a school bus and the children.

"We were kind of blown away, kind of in shock, a little bit like how does that happen?" said Stewart.

The girls are picked up for school outside the family business, Duvall's Lawn and Garden, every morning.

"We've always taught them to look both ways before you cross the road, but you never thought to tell them to look both ways when you're going down your driveway," said Stewart.

Suspect on the loose

The Cecil County Sheriff's Office is working to track down the driver of that vehicle, a gold 2000-2006 Toyota pickup truck.

Cpt. Michael Holmes says this video is especially disturbing.

"We occasionally do see videos of vehicles that pass children, but this is the first I can recall where I saw somebody pass on the right side of the bus while the flashing lights were activated and the stop sign was out, so extremely dangerous," said Cpt. Holmes.

He says it's important that the driver be held accountable before another incident occurs, where the outcome could be worse.

"This driver had a blatant disregard for the law. It's not a close call; it doesn't appear to be a distracted driver, the person purposely drove to the right of the bus at a high rate of speed, and again, it's extremely dangerous. They put children in danger," said Cpt. Holmes.

As the search continues for the culprit, Stewart says this also brings up concerns about safety on 273, where he says speeding has always been an issue.

"Coming out of town, it's the unofficial start of the race to get all the way to Newark as fast as you can. I would like the town to do some things. Set up some radar stuff, things like that. There's only so much you can do," said Stewart.

Anyone who might recognize that gold truck is asked to contact the Cecil County Sheriff's Office right away.