Ohio school bus driver killed during safety drill

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Police say a school bus driver for a private transportation company was killed when the bus rolled over her during an evacuation drill outside an Akron charter school.

A police spokesman says the 51-year-old driver sacrificed her life to save a 10-year-old girl who was about to jump out of the emergency exit at the back of the bus this morning. The driver’s name hasn’t been released.

The accident occurred around 8:10 a.m. when about 40 children were participating in the drill at Middlebury Academy. The girl was the last student to evacuate the bus when it began rolling backward. The driver threw the girl onto a tree lawn before being struck.

The other children witnessed the accident. Grief counselors were sent to the school.