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Dad Of Teen Hit By Bus Calls For State Police Takeover

The father of the Bentonville High student struck by a school bus last week is calling for state police to take over the investigation from local authorities. T...
MeganDavis

The father of the Bentonville High student struck by a school bus last week is calling for state police to take over the investigation from local authorities.

Tom Davis, the father of Megan Zandra Davis, said he believes police findings have been “skewed” and that authorities have been unfairly blaming his daughter for the bus accident.

“This investigation obviously needs to be turned over to a neutral agency not vested in, nor pressured for, a particular outcome,” he told 5NEWS. “I would also request any violation of my daughter’s civil rights and/or corruption of evidence needs to be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Megan Zandra Davis, 17, was hit by a school bus Oct. 4 at the intersection of P and 14th streets at 4:02 p.m., shortly after school let out.

Davis was rushed to Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville in critical condition before being airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo.

Davis’ condition was upgraded from critical to serious Monday.

Bentonville police released a statement Wednesday clarifying they were not blaming Davis for the accident when they said Tuesday that Davis crossed the crosswalk without a protected “Walk” signal, and that the bus driver had a green light during the incident.

An eyewitness refutes police claims, telling 5NEWS that the bus driver’s light was red at the time of the accident.

The pedestrian crosswalk button was broken at the intersection where a school bus struck a Bentonville High student last week, a Bentonville city attorney revealed Wednesday.

City workers were on-site the day after the accident to fix the crosswalk button.

No fault has been determined in the bus accident and the accident investigation is still active, police said.

The Bentonville School District also released a report Wednesday saying the bus driver looked back to talk to a student before the bus collided with Davis.

The driver looked in a rearview mirror to speak with a student named Sebastian, then looked back at the road and noticed traffic stopped before seeing Davis, the report said.

Davis’ body was launched about 30 after the bus hit her, the report states.

Drug and alcohol tests on the driver came back negative, officials said Wednesday.

The driver has been suspended with pay, as per standard protocol, during an investigation into the accident. The tests covered alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and morphine, among other drugs.

Officials also said the school bus reached 47.2 miles per hour at O Street, 0.9 miles from the intersection where Davis was struck before being hospitalized.

The speed limit is 45 miles per hour along that stretch of road.

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