"Does anyone recognize this Tesla?" Franklin police seek driver who almost hit student getting on school bus

Police in Franklin, Massachusetts, are hoping to identify a driver who is seen on dashboard camera making a dangerous pass at a school bus stop. The car ignored the stopped school bus and nearly hit a Franklin High School freshman crossing the street.      

It happened Tuesday morning on Chestnut Street near Griffin Road, a residential neighborhood near a preschool and swim club.

The Franklin Police Department posted video of the incident on Facebook.

"Does anyone recognize this Tesla?" Franklin police wrote. "Apparently, the concept of stopping for a student and a school bus was a little too complicated for this driver yesterday morning."

Cameras from inside the bus caught the Tesla driving around a stopped car and right past the bus with its flashing lights and stop signs.

"Unfortunately, the Tesla apparently had somewhere extremely important to be and decided that waiting a few seconds was simply not an option," Franklin police wrote.

The girl's father, Kenny Isidoro, witnessed the incident himself, grateful his daughter heard the bus horn and got out of the way just in time. "My heart just dropped," Isidoro said.

"We realized she was in the street as the bus was honking, and she just narrowly missed the car that was passing her," Isidoro said. "So, it was pretty scary."

Isidoro says it's a problem that's plagued this neighborhood for years, cars speeding down the hill and the lack of signage warning drivers this is a bus stop. 

"You have reckless drivers who just choose not to stop at a stopped bus," Isidoro said. "It's just outrageous."  

He wrote a letter to town officials Wednesday morning calling for change. "We would love to see this section become a 30-mile-an-hour limit and then a speed radar would also be really helpful," Isidoro said. 

Bus drivers agree something needs to be done. Toni Monaco has been a bus driver in town for over 15 years and says it's "happening all the time." 

"Everyone wants to cut you off," Monaco said. "They want to beat the bus."

Monaco lives across the street and says her friend was the one behind the wheel when the girl was almost hit. "She was shaking," Monaco said. "Nancy was like, 'Wow, it was pretty bad he almost hit her and she was terrified.'"

Police said they received the video from Holmes Busing and Franklin Public Schools.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or knows who the driver may be is encouraged to contact police. Information can be emailed to ccrosman@franklinma.gov.

"Let's make sure our students can get to and from school safely. Apparently, that's something we need to remind a few people about," police said.