data <\/a>shows children are more likely to die while getting on or off a school bus than while riding in one. <\/p>\nFrom 2010 to 2019, pedestrian deaths near buses were 1.6 times higher than deaths of bus occupants.<\/p>\n
The pre-dawn operation along Louetta Road in Klein started simply enough. <\/p>\n
Deputies positioned themselves strategically, watching as one bus after another picked up sleepy-eyed students. <\/p>\n
But things quickly escalated when five vehicles zoomed past a single stopped bus, leading to a traffic stop that uncovered marijuana and a firearm with an altered serial number.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time you go to pass a school bus that\u2019s stopped on the side of the road, loading or unloading, it\u2019s a potential tragedy,\u201d said Capt. Aaron Strain of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The excuses flowed as freely as the citations.<\/p>\n
One driver, who identified himself as a pastor, told Cpl. Patterson he didn\u2019t have his driver\u2019s license. <\/p>\n
Another driver, caught passing a bus with two other vehicles, had both a suspended license and expired registration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely didn\u2019t see it,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty obvious with the big yellow school bus and the flashing lights and the red stop sign,\u201d Cpl. Patteron said in response. <\/p>\n
In a single morning, the operation revealed a startling snapshot of how many drivers ignore one of the most basic traffic laws: stopping for a school bus. <\/p>\n
At one point, deputies pulled over five cars that simultaneously passed the same stopped bus.<\/p>\n
One of the cited drivers, identified only as Valerie, offered a chastened warning to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop when it comes to a bus, especially when they\u2019re picking up children,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Another driver was detained and later arrested for having drugs in the car, along with a handgun that appeared to have the serial number scraped off. <\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials note that every state requires vehicles to stop when encountering a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign arm. <\/p>\n
While most violations result in hefty fines, Wednesday\u2019s operation proved some stops can uncover more serious crimes.<\/p>\n
The message from Harris County law enforcement is clear: whether you\u2019re running late, distracted or simply impatient, passing a stopped school bus isn\u2019t worth the risk to your record or to a child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HARRIS COUNTY, Texas \u2013 During an undercover sting in Klein, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable deputies stopped 51…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[294,405,23324,56,58,57,747,865,251,23325,3961,12810,746],"class_list":["post-37175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-crime","tag-harris-county","tag-harris-county-precinct-4-constables-office","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-klein","tag-law-enforcement","tag-local-news","tag-mark-herman","tag-safety","tag-school-bus","tag-spring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}