On Feb. 26, a school bus was hit by a student at Lakeland High School. There were two LHS students in the truck at the time of the crash. 

EmeliaKay Inslee, a freshman, was in the passenger seat during the crash while Cole Davis, a junior at LHS, was driving his Toyota Tacoma.

Davis was on his way to school, not expecting what would happen that morning. 

“We were driving and we stopped at the light, but a car in front of the bus went even though it was a red light,” Inslee said. “The bus moved forward to the line so Cole thought the bus was also moving and the light turned green even though it was still red.”

In that split second, Davis made a decision that cost him his truck. 

“My coffee was spilling on me so I looked down to pick it up, and when I looked up I realized the bus was not moving,” Davis said. “I slammed my brakes, but I could not stop the truck in time. I thought I would be able to stop in time, but I was too close to the bus and the crash totaled my truck.”

The reactions from Davis and Inslee were very different. 

Davis was very nervous about the crash and did not know how to react.

“I was shook, I started panicking and I did not know what to do. The bus driver came out and made sure I was okay. We were both just shook up.”

Inslee did not have as much of a serious reaction compared to Davis. 

“I was laughing when it happened. I told Cole to calm down because he was pretty upset.”

Davis and Inslee said others gave him a hard time once the word got out that he ran into a school bus. 

“After the crash, my mom came and drove me to school during third period. I got into class and everyone was making fun of me, so I just lost it,” Davis said. 

Davis learned from this experience to fully be attentive while driving. 

“Always pay attention. All it takes is one second and you never know what might happen. Just one second can change anything, so don’t do anything that could distract you while driving. Don’t be on your phone while driving or anything like that,” Davis said.