Brevard County parents worried about student safety after school bus, train crossing arm accident

Student safety concerns after school bus, train crossing arm accident

Parents in Brevard County are seeking answers after a school bus nearly collided with a train crossing arm, leaving families shaken and frustrated over a lack of information from the school district.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Parents in Brevard County are seeking answers after a school bus nearly collided with a train crossing arm, leaving families shaken and frustrated over a lack of information from the school district.

The incident occurred near the intersection of Hickory Street and NASA Boulevard.

Crisis at the crossing

The backstory:

The scene just past the intersection of Hickory Street and NASA Boulevard was chaotic and confusing, according to families who had kids on the BPS bus. They’re frustrated over a lack of communication and trying to understand how a bus full of students ended up in the path of a moving crossing arm.

Witnesses captured video of broken crossing arms scattered on the ground and a Brevard Public Schools (BPS) bus stopped near the tracks with train crews and Melbourne police on-site. Dozens of students were also waiting to be released to families.

Parent's concerns

What they're saying:

For the parents who rushed to the scene, the sight was traumatizing.

"It’s scary, very scary," said Steven Skirkanich, whose 5-year-old daughter was on the bus. "When she got off that bus, I held her and cried."

Skirkanich says the experience had a lasting impact on his young daughter, who is now too afraid to get back on a school bus.

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While the physical damage was limited to the crossing arm and a bus mirror, parents say the emotional toll is much higher. Many feel they were left in the dark as the incident unfolded.

"For those kids to see their lives flash before their eyes with a train coming at them is really heartbreaking," said Melanie Thomas, another mother whose child was on board.

Thomas noted parents began recording the scene themselves because they couldn't get clear information from the driver or officials at the intersection. When asked what she had been told by the district regarding the cause, her answer was simple: nothing.

"Actually, nobody told us anything," Thomas said. "We haven’t gotten no emails from the school."

School district responds

Brevard Public Schools provided a statement to FOX 35 explaining what happened.

"According to police, after a train passed, the arm came up and the bus began to cross, it’s at this point that the arm malfunctioned and came back down onto the bus. Fearing there was another train coming, the driver reversed off the tracks, breaking a side mirror off of the bus. She called dispatch because the bus was damaged rather than continue the route. Police felt she handled the situation well. No students were injured."

However, rail safety advocates are questioning that timeline. Jim Kovalsky, with the Florida East Coast Railway Society, says the mechanics of a crossing usually prevent "sudden" drops.

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"I have to question how the bus got to a position where the gates came down on the bus," Kovalsky said. "The gate just doesn’t immediately drop. That’s why that story doesn’t make sense, because if the crossing reactivates, it starts its whole cycle again."

Kovalsky is calling for more transparency, stating, "I think we need transparency here, and we need to see firsthand what happened."

What's next:

The push for transparency may take some time. FOX 35 requested the onboard bus camera footage from the district to verify the sequence of events, but BPS stated the footage would not be released.

In the meantime, parents are calling for a review of safety protocols at all railway crossings involving school routes.

"Something has to be done for the buses and a change to make sure they can clear the tracks all the way," Thomas said.

FOX 35 has also requested the bodycam footage and the official incident report from the Melbourne Police Department to further investigate the response from officers on the scene.