Full Breakdown
Parma School Bus Collision Spurs Calls for Faster Emergency Alerts
8/27/2026, 9:43:32 PM
Incident Overview
On Tuesday, a Parma City Schools District bus struck a 69-year-old woman in a motorized wheelchair, pinning her beneath the vehicle and dragging her roughly 100 feet. Police reported she suffered a broken ankle bone and surface bruising but remained alert and “doing well.” The district placed fault on the woman, noting she will not be cited and no charges will follow. Thirty-four students were aboard the bus at the time of the crash.
District Response
Parma police notified the John Muir elementary school shortly after the 4:26 p.m. crash. The principal and assistant principal left the school to the scene, began contacting families, and by 5:15 p.m. the final student was picked up. A PCSD spokeswoman said staff initially shared that “bus 196” was involved, then corrected the information to “bus 197” once it was confirmed.
Parental Criticism
Parents described a prolonged lack of timely alerts. “She (his daughter's mom) was trying to call transportation. She called about seven, eight times in a row. It rang all the way through, and in a row too. It's almost like someone just walked away from the phone,” — James He added that the bus appeared stalled at Broadview and Brookdale, and he only learned of the crash through neighborhood-watch posts on Facebook. “I noticed that it didn't move from Broadview and Brookdale. It was just sitting there, and then our Facebook started going off about the neighborhood watch and this and that, there's an accident with a school bus, so of course I got worried,” — James Another parent, Chelsey, a daycare director, recounted finding the bus herself after “pure coincidence” and receiving no official notice until 50 minutes after the collision. “I found the bus on my own. I didn't have any information. I found this by pure coincidence. A family friend ended up texting me, and, you know, I know accidents happen. I am a daycare director, and I have to deal with accidents all day long, you know, but this was heartbreaking,” — Chelsey Both expressed disappointment that the district’s existing communication tools—MyPowerHub and the Stopfinder app—were not effectively deployed during the emergency. “I do love the school district, but we have systems in place, and they're only good when they're actually being used and, you know, maybe this MyPowerHub and Stopfinder, when it's great, it's gonna be great and it would help, but we gotta get the kinks out before the first day of school.” — James
Verbatim Quotes
- “It was a joke. Like, I'm gonna be really honest, they (PCSD) knew they needed to save their butt, and that's what they did,” “It was a joke. Like, I'm gonna be really honest, they (PCSD) knew they needed to save their butt, and that's what they did,” — Chelsey
- “After yesterday, the most terrifying, where's my kid for 45 minutes? It killed me,” “After yesterday, the most terrifying, where's my kid for 45 minutes? It killed me,” — Chelsey
Contact Information for Parents
The district advises families to direct questions to transportation director Brett Campbell at campbellb@parmacityschools.org or 885-2326.
