Montgomery County leaders discuss safety after fatal school bus stop incident

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - It started with two tragic incidents on two separate days.

On December 12, 2019, a 9-year-old girl was getting off a bus in Bethesda. She was struck by that bus moments later and died from her injuries.

The next day, a 17-year-old was crossing a busy intersection on his way to catch his school bus when an SUV struck him causing serious injuries. 

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On Thursday, Montgomery County leaders met to discuss a safety plan for school bus stops.

Todd Watkins, the director of transportation for the county, says they are analyzing every single bus stop in the county for safety standards.

He says crews are already moving certain stops away from busy intersections.

They also discussed using technology to make stops safer.

Watkins mentioned using the navigation app Waze to alert drivers when a school bus makes an active stop.

He also spoke about adding GPS-enabled tablets inside the school buses. Leaders even mentioned adding a longer arm on school buses that would block traffic on neighboring road lanes.

The discussions are early and county leaders say there will be more discussions moving forward.