School girl dies after sticking head out bus window & getting smacked by a tree

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NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
DETROIT - A heartbreaking accident in southwest Detroit as a little girl is killed while riding the school bus. It happened after school. The fifth grader had her head out of the window when the bus came too close to a tree.

A teddy bear on a tree serves as a tragic reminder of what happened to an eleven-year-old girl in front of her classmates and her own sister, who was riding the bus at the time.

"She stuck her head out the window, and she said, 'Christianna,'" said Christianna Garcia. "I turned around and then her face hit the tree."

Eleven-year-old Tiffany DiCicco was waving to Christianna. Her friend says Tiffany was leaning out the window to say good-bye to her as the bus pulled away from Detroit's Phoenix Academy on Pershing. Students standing nearby say they tried to warn the fifth grader to sit back down, but it was too late.

"We said, 'Put your head back in. You're about to get hit by a tree.' And then she said, 'What?' And then blood just started gushing out," said a student.

Emergency crews rushed DiCicco to Children's Hospital where she later died from her massive head wounds. Witnesses say the bus was trying to pull around a car to let another bus in when the accident happened.

Detroit Police and Michigan State Police were on scene investigating, trying to determine how this happened and who was at fault. In the meantime, the bus driver, who works for DHT Transportation, a company outsourced by Detroit Pubic Schools to drive the buses, has been removed from his routes.

"We're going to let the investigation take place. There are experts investigators within the Detroit Police Department, and we're going to let those individuals do their jobs and address the consequences that comes as a result of this very, very, very tragic situation," said Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb.

Bobb says it is a tough time for Detroit Public Schools. This is the sixth student to lose their life in the last ten days.

"There is not a whole lot that one can say to the parents when they bring their children to our schools and they expect that at the end of the day their children will return home safely," Bobb said.

A traumatic time, he says, for DiCicco's family and those who witnesses this tragic accident.

We are told both DiCicco's brother and sister attended Phoenix Academy. Grief counselors are expected to be on hand all day Friday to help the students cope with this loss, especially those who were on the bus at the time.
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http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/deadly-accident-on-detroit-school-bus-20100520-ms
 
Krazy4Real

Krazy4Real

Lifer
Oct 3, 2003
12,221
55
91
I really don't understand how the bus got that close to the tree. I also don't get how the bus driver didn't yell at the kid to get their head back in the bus.
 
R

rasczak

Lifer
Jan 29, 2005
10,437
23
81
wow that sucks. R.I.P. little Tiffany.

As a parent, this just makes my heartaches for the mother and father. ugh.
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
I'm not sure I could find fault here. The girl should have been in the bus. If it happened while the driver was in the middle of a touchy maneuver you can't very well expect him to take his eyes off of what he's doing to check the children.
 
PottedMeat

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
i think i remember the bus driver (SIT DOWN! SHUT UP!) telling stories like this when i was little, never heard of it actually happening.
 
ProfJohn

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
18,161
7
0
The pic in the OP is really inappropriate and should be removed.

Little girl lost life in horrible accident and we have to make jokes about it?
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
ProfJohn said:
The pic in the OP is really inappropriate and should be removed.

Little girl lost life in horrible accident and we have to make jokes about it?
Click to expand...

It's the first thing that sprung to mind when I read that quote, so I put the pic in.

If it wasn't a little girl, and some other poor sap that accidentally died, you guys wouldn't be saying a damn thing about it. You'd be making Austin Powers jokes.
 
waggy

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
SlitheryDee said:
I'm not sure I could find fault here. The girl should have been in the bus. If it happened while the driver was in the middle of a touchy maneuver you can't very well expect him to take his eyes off of what he's doing to check the children.
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I can't fault the buss driver at all. you say in a tricky situation you expect that they can't watch the kids. i would say about 90% of the time they can't watch the kids.

not to mention she was 11. i expect a child to understand that sticking your arm or head out is a really dumb thing to do.

but people are going to blame the buss driver. i expect the parents to sue the school and buss driver soon.
 
V

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
Yea can;t blame the bus driver. They need to drive, not stair at the kids while trying to drive.
Feel bad for the parents.

funny-pictures-kitten-bites-cable.jpg
 
Last edited:
dank69

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
37,129
32,513
136
Where I come from, the bus windows don't open far enough for kids to stick their heads out.
 
R

rasczak

Lifer
Jan 29, 2005
10,437
23
81
waggy said:
I can't fault the buss driver at all. you say in a tricky situation you expect that they can't watch the kids. i would say about 90% of the time they can't watch the kids.

not to mention she was 11. i expect a child to understand that sticking your arm or head out is a really dumb thing to do.

but people are going to blame the buss driver. i expect the parents to sue the school and buss driver soon.
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I agree with the sentiment. The driver can't always be expected to watch the kids and drive at the same time. However, if the driver had just stayed put instead of making the decision to move over so another bus could come through, maybe things would be different. All in all I really feel for the driver. It's a terrible feeling being in an accident that results in injury or death.
 
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
dank69 said:
Where I come from, the bus windows don't open far enough for kids to stick their heads out.
Click to expand...

Actually, in this day and age, I wouldn't even expect kids to make verbal and eye contact with a friend a couple yards away -- I'd expect them to be frantically texting "good-bye" as the bus pulled away.
 
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