A Florida high school student was tragically killed by a school bus being driven by a 78-year-old. The student’s family and the community of Lake Minneola High School are mourning the loss of the boy who was making his way to school when he was struck at 7 a.m.
The boy, Sherman Vannoy, was riding his bike near the entrance to the school on Monday morning when he was fatally hit by an oncoming school bus as he crossed the road. Florida Highway Patrol said that the boy was in a marked crosswalk in the 78-year-old female school bus driver hit him as she entered the campus.
Minneola City Council Member Erick Hernandez posted a lengthy statement on Facebook regarding the incident, which shook the town to its core. He wrote, “It is with heavy hearts that we come together to mourn the loss of a young life in our community today. This morning, tragedy struck at Lake Minneola High School as we learned of a devastating accident that claimed the life of one of our students.”
He continued, “This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing every moment we have with our loved ones. It is a reminder that, as a community, we must come together to support one another in times of sorrow and loss. Please keep the family of the student in your thoughts and prayers as they cope with this devastating loss. Let us also reflect on the importance of safety, compassion, and unity within our community during these trying times.”
One commenter on that post begged Hernandez to work to increase the police presence in the area in the aftermath of this tragedy, pleading, “Heart breaking. We need to do better. No police cars or presence on these roads in the 6am hours. This is a whole highway of kids crossing in the dark!!Very dangerous school road. Lights need to be flashing. IDK we just need acceptable patrolling. I saw the bus and the bicycle laying on the ground when taking my daughter and only tears and prayers was what came out of me. We need to do better for our kids.”
This tragedy truly is a stark reminder of the fragility of life, as Hernandez said. It’s one of the stories that makes you want to hold your loved ones a little bit closer after reading it. A boy on his way to school should be someone that we least worry about, yet bad timing and a little bit of bad luck placed him in exactly the worst spot that he could have found himself that morning.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Lake Minneola High School as they gather themselves after this tragedy and begin to move on to the rest of their school year.
The Featured image is a screenshot from an embedded YouTube video.
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