MACON, Ga. — A fourth-grader at Sonny Carter Elementary died Monday after a 40-year-old hit 11-year-old Shamaar Palmer.
According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office incident report, Palmer was crossing the street but later died at Atrium Health Navicent, the Medical Center.
Yolanda Bevins has a fifth-grader at the same school and rides the same bus as Palmer. She says drivers are constantly going over the speed limit. The speed limit is 35 mph and she says they aren't doing that. She tries to catch the license plates of cars that speed by the bus when it is at a complete stop.
"Something needs to be done. I understand you got to get to work, or you got to get home to get rest, but that's -- somebody's child gone, somebody's future is gone, so please do something about traffic on Tucker Road," Bevins said.
It happened around 7:20 a.m. Deputies confirmed with 13WMAZ, the bus was on Tucker Road at the time of the accident but not in the immediate area.
Bevins says she's reached out before the accident to the school's transportation department about speedy drivers.
"They have you fill out this form and submit your information, then they'll get back to you," Bevins said.
Bevins also sent an email to the neighborhood about other cars not stopping when the bus is picking up students. She even took a picture of a black SUV driving by a school bus that was picking up her child. She did receive a reply from Bibb County's Campus Police Chief Russell Bentley who sent who complaint to the sheriff's office but she "hasn't heard anything."
Bevins hopes the school and county will finally do something about the issue. She suggests safety guards or have the kids meet in one place.
"Have one central location where all the children meet, where all of them get on the bus, where all of them get off the bus," Bevins said.
Students and teachers wrote messages to Palmer on the sidewalk and walls in the courtyard. The school district did send a message out to parents confirming the accident and encouraged parents to reach out to the school if they would like their child to speak with a counselor.