A Marana Unified School District bus driver has been put on paid leave as the district investigates whether he followed proper protocol in letting students out of the bus near a running wash Wednesday.
Two Marana High School students who were let off the bus at a non-designated stop attempted to cross a street flooded by a wash when one of the students was knocked down and swept about 20 yards downstream. She was unconscious when passersby pulled her out and called 911.
The girl, who struck her head when the 2-foot-deep water knocked her over on the road, was in stable condition Wednesday night after being taken to Banner-University Medical Center by Drexel Heights paramedics, said Tracy Koslowski, a fire district spokeswoman.
The other student was able to get out of the flooded street safely, according to MUSD spokeswoman Tamara Crawley.
The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon on San Joaquin Road south of Sunset View Trail when the driver stopped and let several students out before reaching a flooded wash. Crawley said the two students exited the bus with other students whose parents were present.
The bus then stopped before the wash and called dispatch, per district policy. The bus never entered the wash, nor did the driver let students out in the wash, Crawley said.
“This is very serious incident that we are treating very seriously,” she said, adding that the district is conducting a thorough investigation, including reviewing videotape, audio calls to dispatch and interviewing the driver and witnesses.
District protocol states that a driver may only drop students off at their designated stops, at another stop if parents or guardians are present or have made arrangements, or to the parent or guardian themselves.
The bus driver, Glen McCoy, has been with the district since May 2015 and has no disciplinary actions on his record, Crawley said.
