BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Marilee Ventura is a mother of three children, two of whom are in the midst of back to school. At their bus stop though, Ventura says she constantly worries for their safety given what she’s seen.
"There are kids and they need to slow down because it's not cool to have that image engraved in your head to have to pick up your child from the morgue," Ventura said.
Ventura's children attend Dolores S. Whitely Elementary and wait for the bus at the corner of Rolling Rock Avenue and Akers Road. She said in the mornings while children wait for the bus, parents dropping off their children will block the sidewalk, leaving the bus to have to stop further away.
"There's actually been times when the bus will be right here and the kids will be jumping [off the sidewalk] and having to walk [to the bus]," she said. "With cars still going sometimes not even stopping for the bus."
Ventera isn't the only parent concerned. Her neighbor Sergio Gurrola said his children also wait for the bus on that corner and he's concerned about speeding vehicles and reckless drivers doing donuts right next to the children. On Akers Rd., tire marks clearly outline the cars dangerous maneuvers and both parents say it happens while the children are present.
"Since I've lived here, new community in 2016, late 2016, it's been going on," Gurrola said. "Reckless drivers, teenagers coming and not having any concern for safety in the community."
Ventura's concern isn’t only for her children getting to school but also the lines of vehicles that pave the school’s pickup and drop-off zones as well.
"You'll see kids literally by themselves, not with a parent but just by themselves and you'll see the cars just speeding by," she said.
Her concern extends not only to her children, but as a paraprofessional working with special needs children in the Bakersfield City School District, she sees this as a problem for students throughout Bakersfield. Ventura said while she'd like to see the city or police do something to address the problem, she doesn't place the blame on them but individual drivers.
"The cars just don't care, it seems like the parking situation is just hectic, not just at this school but a lot of schools," she said.
Under California law a person can be fined up to $1,000 and have their driving privileges suspended for failing to stop for a school bus when lights are flashing. Speeding tickets in school zones can also result in double fines.
