LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) — In a video sent to KXAN by a viewer, a Liberty Hill ISD police car passed a Liberty Hill ISD school bus while it stopped to pick up students Thursday morning.
According to the viewer, this happens nearly every morning at the Highway 29 bus stop.
"They did not have lights on [nor] did they turn on lights after passing," the viewer said in an email. "I record every morning and afternoon because we have problems with people passing the bus all the time."
This isn't a new issue for the viewer, who spoke with KXAN about the issue in 2019.
“You would think people would realize there are children on the bus,” she said to KXAN in 2019. “It’s our kids. They need to be safe. It’s our jobs to protect them, and then you’ve just got people mindlessly pass by as if it’s nothing.”
The video also shows two other vehicles passing the stopped school bus.
Liberty Hill ISD communications director Rachel Acosta released a statement about the video Friday morning.
"As safety is of utmost importance to Liberty Hill ISD, we are reminding all staff and our community of the rules when approaching a stopped bus," Acosta said. "Highway 29 is not a divided highway, so stopping on both sides of the highway is mandatory when a bus is stopped, has flashing red lights and/or a stop sign extended."
Under Texas law, passing a stopped school bus with either its lights flashing or a deployed stop sign is a misdemeanor offense. A first-time offense can result in a fine of at most $1,250, but repeat offenses can lead to increasingly severe punishment.
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