Thank you for mentioning the engineer. So many times people forget to mention the trauma of train crews. They are victims of grade crossing incidents as well.

Never stop on a track. Run the damn light.

Stories like these make me realize why my parents worry when I'm out of their sight...

These kids were expecting a totally normal day. This puts it into a chilling perspective how any day can be your last day.

How do you get confused from a train horn gates and people yelling move there’s a train coming

This tragedy really is so awful. Really gets under my skin with how avoidable it was. Like what was the bus driver thinking... I know the kids on that bus had to be screaming their heads off! 🏽‍️

That poor engineer. I can only imagine the pain he went through just before the crash when he realized he couldn't stop in time, after the accident hearing the number of dead and injured, and during the hearing as he relived the tragedy. I hope he knows it wasn't his fault and that it likely would have been so much worse if he hadn't done all that he had by managing to slow the train down as much as he did. Bless his heart.

I’m a bus driver in Illinois and one of my former co workers from a different job had a child on this bus. Her kid lost a very good friend because he saw the train and started throwing other students towards the front when it was hit and he was killed. Her story about this day stuck with me and it made me a better driver. If you can’t do it safely, don’t do it.

I feel like common sense would kick in to move....you have all those students saying go, and the train horn. At that point I'd fucking go even if it was a red light. At the end of the day I get it was a freak accident, and I hope the driver was able to get a job somewhere after this incident. Still, you would assume that someone who drives around in the area frequently enough to be considered a viable option for a substitute driver, would either A. Be a bit more aware of what's out the bloody windows or B. Be able to handle a loud bus of kids. Yes there was more than 1 kid shouting that the train was coming but surely, you're able to pick one of the MANY voices shouting that a train is coming and at least look around..... idk.... The whole thing is just kind of dumb. Again, I get it was a freak accident, and even if she did hear on time she might not have been able to move the bus on time. I'm just pointing out how I would have avoided it (or at least attempted to) if I were in that situation. Not saying she was 100% at fault, but it is at least her fault for not picking up on 1 of the MANY warnings that "maybe she should move the bus"

I used to be a school bus driver and they used this and other incidents to teach us railroad crossing safety.

This took place pretty close to where I live. It was pretty sobering to hear this story in middle school before our bus safety lesson. May all those children rest in peace

The fact that she didn’t even notice the alarms and gate THAT HIT THE BUS

Kids: "TRAAAAIIIIIINNNNN!"

Crazy how I went to this high school and the memorial In front has always been respected.