Texas Mother Pleads For Change To Bus Safety Laws After Child’s Death

Losing a child is a nightmare no parent should have to endure, regardless of the manner of death. However, losing a child to a preventable cause must be even more painful.

According to ABC News, Tori Sayre lost her daughter Emory when she was struck and killed by a Brock ISD school bus. The child crossed in front of the bus and was subsequently hit. Certain safety measures could have prevented her death.

Emory was only six years old.

Recently, another young Texas child died when struck by a school bus. Five-year-old Exodus Crockett was killed in Granbury. A candlelight vigil was held in his honor last week.

Emory's mom expressed her deep sorrow at the loss of yet another child to this type of accident and hopes that Texas lawmakers will act to prevent yet another tragedy. That is why she has proposed Emory's Law, in her daughter's memory.

On her Change.org page, Tori lays out the simple solutions that could help prevent future accidents like these. They include the following:

• Safety Crossing Arm Gates to prevent children from walking into blind spots.

• Cameras & Sensors to alert drivers when a child is in harm’s way.

• Enhanced Training & Accountability to ensure bus drivers are fully prepared to protect their passengers.

These safety precautions are currently optional for school districts, however, Tori feels they should be mandatory. To me, the crossing arm sounds like the least an ISD can do, and not very cost-prohibitive.

I agree with Tori, "We believe no child’s life should depend on a budget decision." Sadly, these deaths were not just flukes:

According to NHTSA, 218 school-age children died in school bus-related crashes from 2011 to 2020. Nearly 40% were kids who were walking.

Any child dying this way is unacceptable, but clearly, this is a problem that will continue to happen unless something is done.

If you would like to sign the petition, you can find it here.