On April 2, a former Sumter County school bus driver, Yvonne Hampton, put 29 students and a bus aide in a life-and-death situation at the intersection of East Central Avenue and North Market Street in Bushnell. Yvonne failed to stop at a railroad crossing as alarm bells signaled her to stop. Federal law requires commercial school buses to stop at least 50 feet, but not closer than 15 feet, from the nearest rail.

According to the sworn arrest affidavit, Yvonne was transporting 29 middle school students and another adult. She claimed a car ahead of the bus was preventing her from moving forward.

Sumter County School District officials reviewed bus video footage, which captured students yelling and screaming that a train was coming. A voice believed to be Yvonne can be heard saying, “Not gonna stop for no train.” She then ordered the children to sit down just before the train struck the left rear side of the bus. No student injuries were reported.

“The incident could have turned into a tragedy,” Sumter County School District Superintendent Logan Brown says.

Yvonne is facing 29 counts of child neglect, one count of culpable negligence and one count of reckless driving, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. She was a 10-year veteran with Sumter County Schools. The district says she resigned in lieu of termination following the incident.

Since the incident, the Sumter County School District has updated its routing software to avoid that intersection.

Yvonne was granted a $30,000 bond during her first appearance on April 7. She has since posted bond and been released.