Driver arrested days after truck hit 2 students trying to get on school bus

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The driver of a pickup truck has been arrested and charged days after police said he hit two female high school students who were trying to get on a school bus in south Charlotte last week.

[IMAGES: Truck hits 2 girls trying to get on school bus]

The collision happened around 6:30 a.m. last Thursday on Scaleybark Road, between Woodlawn Road and South Boulevard.

A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools told Channel 9 that the students, who both attend Myers Park High School, were injured when they were hit by the truck while crossing Scaleybark Road to get on their school bus.

MEDIC told Channel 9 they treated two patients, one with minor injuries and the other with more serious injuries.

The ages of the girls have not been released, only that they were teenagers.

Police said the school bus was stopped on Scaleybark Road with its stop arm extended when the crash happened.

Channel 9 reporter Gina Esposito said that she could see a white pickup truck with heavy front-end damage at the scene.

Police cited the driver, Gregory Holmes, who remained at the scene, for failing to stop for a stopped school bus. On Monday, police said they arrested and charged him with passing a stopped bus and hitting a person.

Channel 9 looked into why the driver was ticketed even though medians divide parts of the road. The truck reportedly hit the girls at an intersection where there isn't a divided median. State law says if the median is broken, that is considered an intersection, so all drivers in all directions must stop.

Adam Patwa told Channel 9 that his daughter’s bus stop is on Scaleybark Road, not too far from where the students were struck.

“You got to keep your eye out all the time,” Patwa said. “It’s sad, but with the way people drive on this road, it’s not too unsurprising.”

Patwa said drivers should always stop anytime children are present.

“I’ll stand out in the front to let people know kids are going to be crossing there,” Patwa said.

School officials said the other students on board the bus were taken safely to Myers Park High School and that counselors are being made available.

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