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A funeral was held for 8 year old Amber Sadiq, who died on Monday when a school bus crushed her. Amber's parents were Muslim and Catholic, so the funeral had rituals from both religions; the Daily News pointed out both the reverand and imran recited, "From dust she came and as dust she will return."
The accident also brought many painful memories to a Bronx resident: The Post spoke to Yvette Richards, whose son was killed by an empty bus that was set into motion by four kids who released the parking brake. Richards' lawyer who handled the 1997 case said, "Because a bus is held in place by a simple parking brake, there is never a time when a bus should be parked on a street, period. This was completely avoidable."
And Mayor Bloomberg weighed in about the tragedy: Regarding the 8 year old boy who released the parking brake of the bus that killed Amber, he said, "This was not a child who has a history of taking a gun and going out in the street. This is a child who tragically did something that if it wasn't so tragic you'd describe as a prank... Our prayers have to be with the poor young girl who died... But I don't know what a penalty against an 8-year-old really would mean." Well, the Daily News has an axe to grind with the Administration for Children's Services: Their editorial demands to know why ACS didn't act sooner, after knowing that the 8 year old boy was struggling for 18 months.
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This case upsets me. You can't demonize the boy - at eight years old, there is no concept of extended consequences. Our society is so cynical that we would believe an 8 year old is unsavable, that he's out of control and a danger to society. Their kids. They learn right from wrong by acting out and making mistakes and being taught what their actions mean in this world. I'm sure this boy just learned a chilling lesson.
The lawyer calling for busses never to be parked on streets seems a bit extreme to me. Any accident can be avoided, if only we knew the outcome. Problem is, every situation has a different outcome and we can't see ahead of time.
If the ACS had to act on all the black kids who get in trouble they'd be out of funding in like ten minutes. I mean they'd probably have to take 90% of those kids away from their parents and environments. That's what the ghetto is.
Some people are disturbed by the typos and solecisms found on Gothamist. I'm starting to get weirded out by the level of knee jerk racists among its commentors. It's creepy. Where are these people coming from?
And anyone looking to restrict "busses" on the street is an unromantic fool.
Sorry, that was anachronistic and cheesey. I just couldn't help myself.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Amber's family. I didn't know her, but from everything I've read, Amber sounded like a beautiful, well-loved little girl with a bright future.
Next thing you know, the black family is going to sue the city... cuz dey ig'nant like dat.
Nothing like hearing racist comments from midwestern transplants on an thursday night.
I'm disgusted by the racist remarks I'm seeing here. These people ought to be banned from Gothamist.
But back to the subject, since there's no turning back time, maybe school buses ought to be re-engineered so that this kind of accident (which seems to have happened often enough to warrant a change) won't be possible in the future. Maybe wheel locks or something. Someone out there must know what would work.
I'd been thinking earlier that the boy's parents ought to be liable at least for funeral costs, if not pain and suffering. Since his parents are basically non-existant, and probably not in possession of such funds, they should be thrown in jail for neglect leading to his harmful behavior. And then the ACS should be held liable for missing all the warning signs and allowing things to get this far.