Members of the Georgia State Patrol, Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team remain in Hinesville investigating the cause of Tuesday’s fatal bus crash in the Gum Branch area.
The accident claimed the life of Cambria Shuman, 5. Her funeral is set for 11 a.m. today at Gum Branch Baptist Church.
Shuman was a student at the Hinesville Pre-K center. Known as Cami, she “wanted to be a butterfly princess and loved to dance,” according to her family.
“A genuine good soul, she could melt a heart with her sweetness, brought happiness to everyone around her, and blessed all who knew her,” her obituary said. “She was beautiful.”
The child’s obituary is on page 5.
Others injured
Around 22 other students and bus driver Evelyn Rodriguez were also injured.
Rodriguez, 62, remains hospitalized at Memorial Health Hospital in Savannah.
According to Liberty County EMA Assistant Director Larry Logan, the accident happened at Ray Road on Highway 196.
The bus veered off the road, side-swiping trees and
Members of the Georgia State Patrol, Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team remain in Hinesville investigating the cause of Tuesday’s fatal bus crash in the Gum Branch area.
The accident claimed the life of Cambria Shuman, 5. Her funeral is set for 11 a.m. today at Gum Branch Baptist Church.
Shuman was a student at the Hinesville Pre-K center. Known as Cami, she “wanted to be a butterfly princess and loved to dance,” according to her family.
“A genuine good soul, she could melt a heart with her sweetness, brought happiness to everyone around her, and blessed all who knew her,” her obituary said. “She was beautiful.”
The child’s obituary is on page 5.Others injured
Around 22 other students and bus driver Evelyn Rodriguez were also injured.
Rodriguez, 62, remains hospitalized at Memorial Health Hospital in Savannah.
According to Liberty County EMA Assistant Director Larry Logan, the accident happened at Ray Road on Highway 196.
The bus veered off the road, side-swiping trees and brush damaging the front and side of the bus. The impact caused a portion of the bus to split open.
Liberty County School System Executive Director for Maintenance and Operations Jason Rogers said this is the first school bus fatality involving a child that he can recall.
The Heritage Bank has opened an account to help the family. Donations may be made to the Cambria J. Shuman Memorial Fund at the Heritage Bank.
The family has also set up a Go Fund Me account to help with funeral costs:
https://www.gofundme.com/84q9w-cambria-shuman
GSP Troop I Assistant Troop Commander, Lt. Thornell King said determining the cause of the accident could take weeks.
“They are downloading the memory box of the bus,” King said noting buses are equipped with video recordings much like airplanes. He added the bus is being meticulously studied and recorded and the process takes time.
“They are not going to rush into things,” he said. “They have to inspect the entire bus and finish the investigation and it could be two or three weeks before we have some results.”
King said Trooper Quincy Melvin is the lead investigator in the case. King reported the bus driver remained hospitalized.
Rogers said there are approximately 155 buses active in the LCSS fleet at any given point in time. As a precautionary measure Rogers said the existing fleet of similar model and manufacturer is being checked out.
Rogers added that the, “District is cooperating with all outside investigative authorities.”
He said the buses. Once prior to leaving the depot and once again at the end of their shift.
“In addition buses are inspected by mechanics every 20 days; as well as, by the Department of Driver Services at least once annually,” Rogers said. He added there are approximately 160 drivers on staff system wide.
The accident has reignited the debate on whether school buses should be equipped with seat belts. The state of Georgia does not have a mandate requiring that all school buses be equipped with seat restraints.
Fulton County School district became the first district in the entire state to voluntarily purchase 90 buses equipped with seat belts this past summer.
In January the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issued a report that indicated 301 school-aged children died in school-transportation related crashed from 2006-2015. Of those only 54 were occupants of school buses, 137 were occupants of other vehicles, 102 were pedestrian and 8 were pedal-cyclists.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board school buses are the safest vehicles on the road and one of the safest modes of transportation overall.
The NTSB reports that school buses use a technology called compartmentalization – a passive occupant protection system. According to the NTSB report students are protected within the seating compartment much like eggs in a carton. However they also report that in side impact or rollover crashes compartmentalization was not enough to prevent injuries or deaths.