JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Putnam County family is speaking out after they say they’ve been seeing multiple school buses going 15-30 mph over the speed limit on a bumpy, dirt road in Florahome.
Lisa Crews and her son, Harry Sapp Jr., say they’ve seen several buses carrying students of all ages going as fast as 60 mph along Holloway Road. The speed limit on this road starts at 25 mph before increasing to 35.
“I was parked on the side of the road the other day, and it went by me so fast, my car shook,” Crews said. “It was probably an inch from my mirror, scared me to death.”
Crews actually captured a video of herself yesterday attempting to catch up to the bus after she says it almost hit her the day before. In the video, Crews’ speedometer reaches approximately 50 mph, but it takes almost a full minute before she gets close enough to see the school bus.
She says Holloway has multiple blind spots and it would be all too easy for the bus to accidentally hit someone.
“I have dropped my grandchildren off at the bus stop in the morning, and then watched her just fly down the road,” Crews said. “It didn’t matter if I was behind her or not; she still was flying.”
Sapp says his daughter attends Interlachen High School. When he called to complain about the buses, he said the school told him they would “look into it.”
“I’ve talked to my daughter about it, and she said that they’re short on bus drivers,” Sapp said. “And they get complaints all the time, but they’re not going to do anything about it.”
We reached out to the Putnam County School District for comment, and they sent the following statement:
“Student safety is always our top priority, and we take concerns involving the operation of district vehicles very seriously.
Upon receiving the complaint, the district promptly reviewed the matter and confirmed that the bus driver was operating the vehicle in excess of the posted speed limit. As a result, the district is addressing the situation through the appropriate progressive discipline process in accordance with School Board policy and district procedures.
While we cannot comment on specific personnel matters, we can assure the public that concerns of this nature are investigated thoroughly and addressed appropriately.
At this time, we have not been able to confirm the statement allegedly made regarding staffing shortages. That statement does not reflect the district’s expectations regarding student safety or employee accountability.
We appreciate community members bringing concerns forward and remain committed to ensuring the safe transportation of our students each day."
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.