As the first week of school comes to a close, parents and school
officials are making sure a group of students are coming to terms
with witnessing the death of a motorcyclist after the rider
collided with their school bus.
Salinas resident Aaron Castro died at the scene of the accident
on Wright Road on Wednesday morning after running into the back of
a school bus transporting Marguerite Maze Middle School
students.
As the first week of school comes to a close, parents and school officials are making sure a group of students are coming to terms with witnessing the death of a motorcyclist after the rider collided with their school bus.
Salinas resident Aaron Castro died at the scene of the accident on Wright Road on Wednesday morning after running into the back of a school bus transporting Marguerite Maze Middle School students.
While school officials and parents argue over whether students knew they were in the presence of a dead body, both agree the experience was tragic.
According to accounts from students and parents, the more than 30 bus riders felt a bump when the motorcyclist hit the bus, which was stopped with its lights flashing, picking up a student.
The bus driver got out and saw Castro. She dispatched to the district office and the California Highway Patrol was called, according to C.R. Rogers, director of transportation for the Hollister School District.
After the police arrived, the bus was moved forward to allow officers to reach Castro, Rogers said. Rogers made it down to the scene a little after 7 a.m.
“It’s our students. Our interest is more on what’s going on with the students,” he said. “Someone needs to be talking to the students.”
Officials decided it was safer to keep the students in the bus while they waited.
Unless a student is injured, parents will not be notified at the time of the accident, Rogers said. A letter was sent home to all Maze parents Wednesday informing them of the accident.
Some parents question the district’s policy, arguing they should have been called at once.
“It’s not necessarily what he (my son) saw, it was an accident. I just think parents should have been informed immediately,” said Denise Perry, whose 13-year-old son was on the bus. “I would have waited for him to get to school, if for nothing else to give him a hug. It’s a pretty frightening thing to sit and watch someone die.”
Once it was determined the school bus’ lights and signals were working and the driver was OK to continue driving, the bus finished its route to Maze. The students missed first period, Rogers said. The bus driver went home for the rest of the afternoon.
While there were reports a second bus was on its way, Rogers said there wasn’t one dispatched. A bus from the San Benito High School District drove by the scene on its normal route, but that was the only other bus in the area, Rogers said.
Hollister School District officials said students were not aware the motorcyclist died until Maze staff informed the entire campus later in the day. But Perry said her son saw Castro shaking and then saw his body fully covered with the sheet, an obvious indication of death to a 13-year-old, she said.
After they were told about the death, the students were notified about grief counselors and the district’s psychologist who were all on site for anyone who needed to talk. Rogers said, as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, no one visited the counselors or psychologist.
