Home | Contact Us | Join Our Email List | Submit a Blog Post

Sheriff's Dept
(760)836.3215
Report a Problem - Call Anonymously

Home Repair Services
Daryl Frazier - (760) 674-6070

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Bus Stop Fears Come to a Halt for Worried DHS Mother

from Steve Grasha, B-Bar-H Resident
By Elyse Miller , News Channel 3

Parents will do anything they can to keep their children safe. A Desert Hot Springs mother spent weeks trying to put a stop to a dangerous walk her son makes every day: it's the walk to his bus stop. Desperate to protect her son, she turned to KESQ for help.

Just as the sun is rising and people are rushing to work, Brenda Soto's 10-year-old son Steven waits for the cars to clear to get to the school bus.

"I go to work worried every day if he made it to school ok. Did he cross ok? Did he get hit by a car?" says Soto.

The speed limit along Mountain View Road is 55 mph. Steven has to cross the road twice a day, before and after school. There's no crosswalk, stop sign or traffic light for at least a mile down the road.

"The sun is in the drivers' eyes or sometimes they're on the phone," says Soto. "People aren't looking for a 10-year-old kid at 6:45 in the morning."

Memorial crosses along the road remind Soto of what could and has happened. Last year, Carissa Nwene was hit and killed as she walked to Desert Hot Springs Middle School, which is the same school Steven goes to.

"I don't want it to be a little too late," says Soto.

Soto took Steven's safety into her own hands, making calls and asking for a bus stop on their side of the road or for a crosswalk.

"They told me eventually they'll get to it. What does it take for it to eventually come?"

Desperate for immediate help, she turned to KESQ. We made dozens of phone calls, and, finally, the Palm Springs Unified School District's Transportation Department took a look at the problem.

One week after our first call to the department, a new stop was added to the bus route. Now, Steven doesn't have to cross the road to get to school. Instead, the bus picks him up right in front of his house, driving away his mother's fear.

Soto now hopes the Transportation Department will install a sign to warn drivers that students are in the area.

Labels: , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

We welcome your comments to this blog. Our purpose is to create a neighborhood online community.

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home