A car almost hits two Penn-Harris-Madison students entering their school bus

SAINT JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- This was a scary scene at a Michiana bus stop after a driver ignored the flashing and stop arm of a Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation bus.

It was caught on their mom’s home security footage of the two students almost being hit as they boarded.

Stacy Zimmerman is the mom of those students that say she’s upset that the driver couldn’t just stop.

“God. I mean, angry, shocked, very shocked, because, like, it does not take, it's not gonna kill you to stop. It's not like you really could have hurt or and, or maybe even killed the kids. And it's not okay. Is really not okay,” said Zimmerman.

The driver completely ignored the stop arm and swerved onto the shoulder right where the kids were standing on Ash Road, and barely missed them as they crossed.

The driver was on the side of the bus where no driver should pass especially after the bus arm is extended.

The P-H-M Director of Transportation Brandon Tugmon says they have multiple cameras on the bus, however none of them were able to catch the license plate

“Unfortunately, since they did pass on the door side, we were unable to get the license plate. We're able to get somewhat of a view of the car as it passes out in front of the bus through the forward-facing camera, but at this point we did not get a license plate," said Tugmon.

If you pay attention to the side mirror of the school bus inside the district's footage that it provided to ABC57, you can clearly see just how close the vehicle was to the bus.

“We need the community to be more diligent when they're driving, paying attention. Understand that when those amber lights come out, you know, that's usually about 200 feet before the stop, and you need to prepare to stop. And then once that stop arm comes out, you need to be stopped." said Tugmon

This is not just a onetime incident; the P-H-M Director of Transportation confirmed the stop arm violations they track per month has nearly doubled since last year.

For parents like Stacy Zimmerman, it’s not about the numbers, it’s about what could have happened.

The St. Joseph County Police Department says it is still looking for the driver, she’s a petite black woman driving a red Dodge Charger with a black stripe down the side.

If you have any information on the driver or the vehicle you can contact St. Joseph County Police Department at [email protected] or call 574-235-9032 X6440.