Dad Of Teen Hit By Bus Calls Police Findings “Skewed”
The father of the Bentonville teen hit by a school bus says a report released by police Tuesday hides facts from the public.
Megan Zandra Davis, 17, was hospitalized last week after being hit by a school bus at an intersection in Bentonville. She crossed the street without a protected crossing signal, according to a report released by the Bentonville Police Department on Tuesday. The traffic light was green when the teenager was crossing the street, the report states.
Davis was struck by a bus Oct. 4 at 4:02 p.m., shortly after classes ended at the high school, officials said. She was rushed to Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville in critical condition before being airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, hospital officials said.
Davis has been upgraded from critical to serious condition since the incident near the intersection of 14th and P streets in Bentonville.
Davis was crossing the road without a protected crossing signal moments before being hit by the school bus, according to a report from the Bentonville Police Department.
Bus driver Lisa Fitzner, 60, of Bentonville was passing through the intersection on a green signal when the bus struck Davis, the report states.
Tom Davis, Megan’s dad, fired back against the police’s version of the incident Tuesday, saying police were falsely blaming his daughter for the accident.
“There are fact-based details and inconsistencies not being released to the press,” he said. “I now know this accident is being politicized and the fact-finding skewed.”
Davis said it has not been confirmed that the light was green.
City employees were on scene working on the push-button pedestrian signal the day after the bus accident.
The driver was suspended with pay while administrators reviewed the facts, said Michael Poore, superintendent.
Twenty-four students were onboard the bus during the accident; 19 students were from Lincoln Junior High School, and the other five were from Bentonville High School.
The Bentonville Police Department closed Highway 102 down to one lane each way while investigating and set up accident reconstruction, police said.
A Facebook page has been set up for Megan Zandra Davis at facebook.com/PrayersForMegan.
