7-Year-Old Struck by Car Airlifted to Tampa Trauma Center
UPDATE: 3/2/2016, 10:35 A.M.- According the Florida Highway Patrol, 37-year-old Laura Demers of Brooksville, was traveling westbound on Cortez Blvd, approaching a stopped school bus. After a series of lane changes, in an attempt to avoid stopped vehicles, Demers lost control of her 2007 Kia SUV - veered off the roadway - and struck a little girl. The florida Highway Patrol has the girl listed as a 9-year-old.
The child is listed in stable condition, after sustaining minor injuries.
Demers received a citation for Careless Driving.
BROOKSVILLE – According to officials with Hernando County Fire rescue, a 7-year-old little girl was airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, after being struck by a car - while attempting to board a school bus.
The accident occurred on Cortez Blvd at the intersection of Griffin Road, around 8:00 a.m. this morning.
There are unconfirmed reports that a vehicle attempted to pass a stopped school bus, with flashing stop lights engaged, and struck the little girl; however, that information has not been confirmed.
Officials say the student is in stable condition at this time.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.
We will bring more on this story as it develops.
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Going around a school bus boarding children with lights flashing and hits a child.Tasker ohe license should be revorked for life. No questions asked.
Flashing RED lights…. big YELLOW school bus…. RED stop sign… none of that means STOP…. or at least SLOW down…. THROW THE FREAKING BOOK AT THEM…. praise Jesus this baby girl is still alive… sending prayers to this family…. and yes I am even praying for this PERSON that hit her…. PLEASE PEOPLE SLOW DOWN…. and for goodness sakes STOP AT A STOP SIGN…. 😠😠⚠⚠🏫📚👫👭👬🚥🚸⚠⚠😠😠
Did you really make a “Vehicle vs Child” graphic?
I see almost everyday dumb drivers speeding around a stopped school bus with lights flashing, and now this is a consequence of that. Glad the kid is okay but this driver should get their license revoked.
What Jay said. I don’t get bothered by much but that graphic needs to go.
What would you recommend as a graphic? Vehicle vs Child is what happened…
“Vehicle vs Child” is absolutely flippant. It feels like you’re inviting tactless, dehumanized gawking at the incident with some shock factor, which is only magnified by the jarring contrast of that phrase atop an otherwise pleasant school graphic. There are a million more straightforward alternatives. Something as simple as “child seriously injured” or “SUV strikes child” would probably feel a good bit more tasteful considering the gravity of the situation. The phrase “Vehicle vs Child” makes me think I’m visiting LiveLeak.
Thank you for your comment Chris. Thankfully, the child only sustained minor injuries, so your suggestion of “Child Seriously Injured” would be inaccurate and be more along the lines of “Shock Factor” as you call it, than Vehicle vs Child. There are numerous news agencies who have used Vehicle vs Pedestrian, or similar graphics, so I believe we made the right choice. Thank you for your imput.
# 1: the driver should have stopped instead of changing lanes. # 2 & more importantly this county needs to stop making bus stops on highways. Don’t they know how dangerous this is???. If the excuse is there is nowhere close enough off the highway to make a stop , then the bus driver should have to pull off onto the shoulder, let children off ,then pull back onto the highway. How many children will actually lose their lives before this is changed????
What the hell is graphic about this story…. well written Tom…..
So sad. I couldnt imagine what the parents are going through. Praying for the little girl and the family. God will handle the driver.
We live in an “It’s all about me” society.
Prayers for child and family. This 37 yr old needs license revoked, put in jail . Who the heck in their right mind goes around a stopped shcool bus with flashing lights?? Idiot!!
School whoops,,
Someone with the attitude…DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM????…I don’t have to stop…jerk…
You are reading a news article here people. You do not know the whole truth as to what was happening at the time of the accident. You do not know if the driver had to swerve to avoid something else. The point is you are all making assumptions and do not know all of the facts. I know this woman and she would NEVER intentionally avoid a stopped bus. I could bet that she just finished dropping her young child off at school and is extremely devastated by what happened. Stop and think about what you say unless you were there and know every detail of what happened.
I have said over and over that bus stop needed to be change….I was there when it happen..I take my childern to school everyday that way. We always stop for the bus. The driver should be in jail right now. There is no excuse for not seeing the buses lights flashing. The driver was simply not paying attention! My family is prayer for the little girl and her family.
Kristill then enlighten us all since we weren’t there and you know her, just sayin. We would all like to know what would justify hitting a poor child !! Smdh
I see it every morning people speeding in the school zone in front of Deltona Elementary they dont have a care in the world i would like to see traffic unit there one morning
Yea, Someone who was on their dam phone
I saw what happened. The vehicle and child got into a boxing match. So vehicle vs child is accurate. This is unconfirmed however.
My bet is on the lady was on her phone and not paying attention. By the time she saw the stopped traffic, it was too late.
This stuff is awful. This would be a nightmare for me to find out happening to my kids. careless is locking your keys in the car but swerving in and out of traffic and driving aggressively only to hit a child is beyond careless. For the people complaining about his graphic used well the story alone should be your focus. The story makes me hug my kids a little harder tonight.
I can’t wait for Tom Lemmons to bring an audio recording feature to his website’s comment section, so you can actually listen to the opinions of everyone over sixty-years old, who barely got their GED! Which will beg the question, who sounds more unintelligent: an elderly, undereducated New York Italian, or an elderly, undereducated Floridian?
To avoid stopped vehicles says it all, obviously she was distracted. Hope this child recovers quickly. Please pay attention while driving!
Mike Salvatore… WHAT does ” over 60 ” have to do w/ it????????????????????????? And Your ” uneducated” comment is totally inappropriate and very rude … These comments have NOTHING to do w/ this story… .
A citation? That’s all the woman got? Hummm, now if she had been driving with a suspended license, she would go to jail . but not wreckless driving?, that ended up hitting a child??? I think something is wrong with that picture. 🤔🤔🤔😕😕😕
For all those criticizing a graphic…get a life. Its about the story of a kid being hit by an irresponsible driver.
Ruth andMichelle, WELL SAID!!! ALSO, CAN’T BEL IEEE ALL SHE GOT WAS A TICKET SMH
BELIEVE, whoops, for all the perfect people.
This doesn’t say much for Oak Hill Hospital, which is only a couple of miles down the road.
…or, Brooksville Regional.
Jail nurse I think because Bayonet Hospital is more of a trauma center, don’t know but I have heard some bad stories about one that you mentioned. I hope the child is okay and still can’t believe that the driver only got a ticket.
I drove pass thatthe minivan was spun around in a ditch a good distance from the bus,it was clearly moving fast how can you miss a school bus and avoid what? she drove in the grass on the passenger side of the bus its almost like she was aiming for the kid think about it the mini van drove off the road around to the pass side of a bus that islike 43 feet long or so continued driving and came to rest spun around i dont know maye 150 feet in front of the bus.wtf careless driving!how bout speeding,passing a school bus with flashing lights,serious bodily injury while in the commision of breaking several laws,endandering the welfare of a minor,separate charges for every child that was at that stop and already on the bus, im sure there is a longer list of things this driver did wrong and they should be charged with all of them.
Kristi what else is there to know so she swerved around a 43 foot bus and mowed a kid down when a bus is stoped she should of been stopped then this would of never happen she broke multiple laws a kid is in the hospital what else do we need to know?
I agree with susan about bus stops on main throghfares its not just in hernando its a statewide problem iv said that a thousand times its stupid its dangerous and people on the way to work have to stop on every corner on roads like 41 for a school bus stop they pick up 1 kid at a time like evey 200 feet and back up miles of traffic.and iit would be so much safer to keep kids off main roadway during peak traffic.its still no excuse to run down kids that driver should be in jail.
As a X Guard I see this kind of bad behavior 5 days a week. Adults of all ages dropping off their kids/grandkids then blowing thru walk signals with guards waving their stop signs, passing stopped School Buses with the flashers on. I guess these Perps. got their license in an uncivilized country where it is OK to eat children. Loose your license? How about 3 months in the facility with a fence on Spring Hill Av.. See how she looks in white & black stripes