Boy Killed by School Bus: Mother Offers Forgiveness to Bus Driver, Teachers Unite in Prayer
A 6-year-old boy in Louisiana was struck and killed by his own school bus after he noticed that someone had tied his shoe laces together and bent down to untie them in front of the vehicle. The boy's mother has said she forgives the bus driver who hit him and offered her support to the woman who was overcome by grief after the incident.
"He wasn't paying attention because he was in his own world," Jennifer Houston told KTAL-TV about her son Brenden. "That's how he lived. He didn't cause it, the bus driver didn't cause it, and all the things surrounding it didn't cause it. It happened. It was an accident, and we'll never get him back, but he'll be in our hearts forever."
The boy had just gotten off the bus when he realized his shoes had been tied together.
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"When he got off, you know, he was shuffling and he reached down in front of the bus to untie his shoe laces. She did not see him," eyewitness Sara Ward said. "Somebody was laying in the road. I thought maybe a child had passed out or got knocked down. The bus driver was out here, right next to my little bridge just in hysterics, in hysterics," she told KLTV.
A memorial immediately formed where Brenden was struck, and neighbors have been donating to a new fund in his memory. Brenden had seven brothers and sisters, including a twin sister. His family has rallied to support the bus driver, Debra Kay Stevens, who was beside herself with grief and guilt. She has been suspended pending a police investigation and was given a drug-screening test, but officials say this was most likely just a tragic accident.
"People just need to understand, things line up like that sometimes and there's nothing we can do about it. It doesn't make it hurt any less, but blaming somebody that's in as much pain as we are … two people are victims here – she was one of them," Houston said. "She's a grandmother and she loves those kids. Brenden was one of her favorites; he sat behind her every day."
Houston said she was surprised at the amount of prayer she saw in the minutes after the accident. According to her, nearly 20 teachers showed up at the hospital where Brenden was taken to pray for his recovery. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries.
"In this day and age, to see that many people praying in a school district is rare, but that's what that school is … rare," Houston said.
A memorial service will be held on Monday at Trinity Heights Baptist Church in North Shreveport where Brenden's grandfather is an associate pastor.
