Now this is disturbing.
A video of three 15-year-old boys brutally beating and kicking a 13-year-old on July 9 has come to light, as authorities try to determine if the bus driver who refused to physically intervene should be charged with negligence.
But John Moody, a 64-year-old who has been driving school buses for 20 years, says he was too afraid to step in as the teens pummeled and kicked the boy, even after he fell, becoming trapped between the bus seats.
“The three boys just jumped on him and started pounding on him. And I did all can,” he told CNN affiliate WFLA. “I was looking. It was like I was in shock. I was petrified.”
Moody, prosecutors, and the Pinellas County school system say there are no grounds to charge the driver with anything because he followed policy by calling dispatchers to assist. In fact, other counties actually forbid drivers from physically stopping fights.
“It wasn’t like he was looking out the window cleaning his fingernails or something like that,” said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, according to CNN affiliate WFLA.
In fact, Moody can be heard calling for help. He then turns to the boys and tells them to leave the victim alone. And he can be heard on the surveillance tape telling the dispatchers to hurry because the teens were going to kill the 13-year-old victim.
“You got to get somebody here quick, quick, quick, quick.”
In the end, the teens leave the bus and the victim, who suffered two black eyes and a broken arm, follows. There is some debate among police about Moody not attending to the victim after the beating, but Bartlett says there wasn’t even time to do that.
“The kid gets up and skedaddles out the door,” he said.
The three boys were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. There is no word on charges against Moody as of yet.
This whole situation prompts us to ask an important question – should bus drivers or teachers step in during violent situations such as this?
Discuss…
