Pierce County Crimestoppers is hoping a $1,000 reward will help bring to justice the speeding SUV driver who nearly struck three school children.
"Help us catch this driver," said Det. Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. "We are very lucky we don't have 3 dead kids."
A heart-stopping video from inside a Graham school bus shows the speeding SUV coming within inches of striking the three kids just as they were about to walk onto their school bus.
"My kids, they were so close to being taken away from me," said parent Lisa Razo. "It's really, really hard to watch."
Thankfully nobody was hurt, but 5-year-old Charity Wolf said it felt like the SUV touched her as it went by.
"It kind of ran over my shoe a little," Wolf said.
Troyer said the near miss Friday happened at 224th Street and 124th Ave E. at 8:07 a.m. The on-board surveillance system captured the near-miss from three separate angles. Witnesses say the SUV driver went around several other vehicles that had stopped behind the school bus.
"When we knew our kids were okay the anger set in," said parent Brandy Wheeler. "I took off running. I was part way down this hill after her."
It's illegal to pass a bus while it stops to pick up children, but this case was especially dangerous because the driver passed on the shoulder side of the bus, not the driver's side.
Wheeler's 10-year-old son Jerry was one of the kids nearly hit. Lisa Razo's 5- and 9-year-old daughters were also inches away from being run down.
"They were just shell-shocked," Razo said. "So were we. Her son was crying."
School district officials say all the lights and signs on the bus were working and the bus driver did everything by the books. So did the children, who were taught by their parents to wait for the bus to stop and the doors to open before getting on.
The parents are asking people to be on the lookout for an older model white GMC Jimmy with a sunroof and chrome wheels. Others have suggested the vehicle is a 1998-2005 Chevy Blazer or a 1997-2001 Oldsmobile Bravada.
If you recognize the vehicle, call Tacoma Pierce County CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
