5-Year-Old Girl Killed In School Bus Accident
Posted March 23, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A heart-wrenching tragedy occurred near Guelph, Ont. this week when a little girl was run over and killed by a school bus at the foot of her grandmother’s driveway.
The accident happened Thursday around 4pm in the small township of Eramosa, northeast of Guelph. The five-year-old kindergarten student, Ashlynne Jamie Rayner, and her brother Mackenzie, who’s in Grade 2, got off the bus and crossed the street in front of the vehicle.
That’s when the girl fell near a tire and the bus pulled away and ran over her. The youngster suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.
“She was a very sweet and vivacious little girl and everyone loved her,” family friend Kathy Lush said.
The bus driver, Robert Ostrander, is a well-known and liked Guelph man who has driven the same route for a decade. He was reportedly so distraught that he sat in the driver’s seat for 45 minutes sobbing with his head in his hands.
“We just hope he’s okay and knows that the kids just think he’s great and so do we,” Lush added.
There were 18 other children on the bus who were apparently seen crying while they waited for another vehicle to pick them up.
The child’s grandmother also witnessed the accident.
Counsellors and support staff were available for students at Rockwood Centennial school Friday.
“They may have fears of riding the bus so that’s one of the things the counsellors will be dealing with as well,” Maggie McFadzen of the Upper Grand District School Board said.
Police haven’t laid any charges, but are still interviewing witnesses.
There’s been an outpouring of support for the family following this tragedy, including thoughts and prayers from other parents who know the pain of losing a child.
“I have a daughter who’s five-years-old and I just can’t imagine. I’ve lost one child before and I feel for the mom so bad I just want to give her a hug,” parent Merna Prete said Friday.
