Video shows heating van almost hitting children

MISHAWAKA, Ind. --  Icy road conditions still mean you have to stop for school busses.

Police are asking drivers to be prepared to stop early with the weather and road conditions only getting worse.

A posted to Facebook shows a Great Lakes Heating and Air truck appearing to not stop for a school bus with its lights on and arms out --- but the company says the driver said he couldn’t stop because of ice on the road.

“On that day a lot of the local schools were closed including one of the local colleges in michiana. My son slid off the road as well going 37 in a 55. Five minutes late i got a text saying one of my drivers slid past a bus,” Mike Ritter, owner of Great Lakes Heating and Air, said.

In the video – you can see the driver’s brake lights were on – but in a situation like that local police suggest alerting the bus driver that you can’t stop.

“When that stop sign comes out and those red lights are flashing – you can stop for that school bus,” Lt. Tim Williams of Mishawaka Police said. “So if the weather conditions are bad enough where you’re gonna slide through that then alert the bus driver. Flash your lights, honk your horn.”

At Great Lakes Heating and Air,  preventative measures like weighing down the vans and installing new tires are taken each season and Ritter is confident his driver would have stopped for the bus had it not been for road conditions.

“Kids are immensely important to us, none of my drivers would intentionally run through a stopped bus,” Ritter said.

Police want to remind drivers to drive with extra caution this winter especially when driving during times where children are getting on their buses.

 “We should all be prepared for the weather conditions to change here in Michiana, and we know that it’s gonna take us a little bit more distance to stop so we need to be prepared,” Williams said.

Police are also encouraging drivers to put their phones down while driving, especially during the winter time when road conditions are not ideal.

Not driving distracted and driving below the posted speed limit when it’s icy can help prevent a tragedy,