Driver: Principal fatally hit by bus pushed kids out of way

Amy Beverland Elementary Principal Susan Jordan was struck and killed Tuesday afternoon as students were being loaded onto buses for dismissal.

Jordan spent more than 20 years as principal at Indiana’s Amy Beverland Elementary School and was adored by her staff and students.

The bus driver told firefighters that she’s not sure why the bus jumped the curb, but that she saw Jordan push several students out of the way, according to Rita Reith with the Indianapolis Fire Department.

Shawn Smith, superintendent of the Lawrence Township school district, told reporters that Jordan was the pillar of the school and a “legend” in local education.

According to Fox 59, the incident took place at approximately 2:45pm when a bus holding 25 kids fatally inched forward and struck Jordan.

Jordan was a beloved principal and educator with people constantly showing their admiration for her, according to CNN.

“They just loved her”, she said.

He says initial reports indicate that four to five children were injured in the crash. The parents of those children are in the process of being notified.

Indianapolis Police Commander Chris Bailey said the bus driver, whose name was not immediately released, would be given a blood test, a standard procedure in collisions involving fatalities. “She is everything I want to be when I grow up”, a woman says on the video.

The school bus lurched over a curb for an unknown reason and hit Jordan and two children, IFD said.

The school’s Facebook page confirmed Ms Jordan’s death.

“It didn’t surprise any of us Susan would sacrifice herself”, Denna Renbarger, a district official, said.

Susan Jordan died knowing she was loved.

The children have non life-threatening injuries, IFD said.

It was unclear what caused the accident or if the driver could face criminal charges.

Indiana State Police investigated the school bus involved in the crash outside of Amy Beverland Elementary School yesterday, and they found nothing mechanically wrong with the bus. Two of the children – Ncube’s son Joshua Sandile Ncube, 12, and his niece Malia Siziba, 5 – later died in the hospital.