Boy Struck by Pickup Truck in Critical Condition
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A Robbins Elementary School third-grader remains hospitalized in critical condition after he was struck by a pickup truck Wednesday morning while crossing the road to get on a school bus.
Karen Maness said doctors at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill told her that her 8-year-old son, Slayton Mitchell Maness, experienced severe head trauma and suffered a stroke at some point after the vehicle struck him. He also suffered multiple fractures.
“There’s a lot of issues going on right now,” she said in a telephone interview from the hospital. “His neck is fractured. His ribs are broke. His pelvis is fractured. His ankle is broke. They’re thinking his left hand is broke as well.
“He can’t move his left side. He’s very heavily sedated. That’s all I really know right now.”
Maness said her son has been sedated since the accident, but he has been responsive to some tests when doctors wake him up periodically. She and her husband have requested that they be present when doctors wake him up again.
A hospital spokesperson said Thursday that Maness was listed in critical condition.
State Highway Patrol Trooper D.P. Barber said the boy was struck by a truck on North Moore School Road about 6:40 a.m. Wednesday. He would not confirm the identity of the child.
Barber said the bus had activated its flashing lights and was slowing to a stop. It had yet to deploy its stop sign. The boy left his driveway and attempted to cross the road when he was struck by a pickup truck driven by Billy Joe Binkley, 60, of Bonlee.
Maness said she was waiting with her son for the bus at the time of the accident. She said that when the bus pulled up, her son started across the street and was struck by the truck coming around the corner.
“It hit him straight on and drug him 50 feet,” she said.
She said she didn’t see the truck when her son started across the road.
Maness said her son was transported by ambulance to North Moore High School, where a helicopter took him to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
“He was not responding,” she said. “All he was doing was crying. He would not respond to my voice. He just kept crying and crying and crying.”
Binkley told authorities that he saw the flashing lights on the bus and was slowing down but didn’t see the boy. Barber said Binkley was not exceeding the 55 mph speed limit on the road at the time of the accident.
No charges have been filed.
“We regret that it happened,” school system spokesman Tim Lussier said Wednesday. “Certainly, we are hoping that we’re going to hear good news about the child’s condition.”
Later that morning, school officials notified parents whose children were on the bus that the accident occurred.
Extra guidance counselors were at Robbins Elementary all day Wednesday to help students with the situation.
Principal Heather Seawell and Assistant Superinten-dent Brian Phillips traveled to the hospital Wednesday morning to monitor the boy’s condition. Maness said she expects Seawell to visit again.
Maness asked for everyone to keep her family in their prayers.
“I appreciate everybody’s concern,” she said. “Please keep him in your prayers.”
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Comments
DaisysMom 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Praying for Slayton and his family!!
moorenc 6 months, 3 weeks ago
This is just so very sad. I do not know any of the people involved personally but I wanted to let them know there are peolple out there praying for them and may God bless and watch after you all especially little Slayton.
blessherheart 6 months, 3 weeks ago
I am a little confused here. If the bus had stopped and had its lights flashing ... does this not mean that all vehicles must be stopped too?
ladylane 6 months, 3 weeks ago
This makes my heart ache prayer will change things.
witness2 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Please pray for this youngster and his family. God is in control and remains in the healing business. May God give you all peace beyond all understanding.
emb6683 6 months, 3 weeks ago
@blessherheart: The article says: Barber said the bus had activated its flashing lights and was slowing to a stop. It had yet to deploy its stop sign.
So that means the flashing yellow lights were on, which are just a caution light; the flashing red lights and stop sign were not yet on, so legally the other vehicles don't have to stop yet.
Here's another issue - the 2005 Energy Policy Act changed the 'fall back' DST time from the last weekend in Oct to the first weekend on Nov, starting in 2007.
If we had already 'fallen back" it would have been one hour later, with more visibility at 6:40 am this past Wednesday and maybe the driver would have seen the boy.
tgirl 6 months, 3 weeks ago
First, I hope the little boy gets better soon. I have a daughter his age and I cannot imagine what the parents are going through right now - prayers for all. Second, I think a lot of people need to repeat drivers ed. I don't care that the school "red" lights and stop sign was not out yet. The fact of the matter is the flashers were on and the bus was slowing down. That means there are children around and you need to slow down and stop a good distance away from the bus anyway...it doesn't mean "oh, I better hurry up and try to get by this bus before they put that stop sign out. @ emb6683: I can understand trying to say if we had changed the clock back an hour already that there would be more visibility, but really, when you are in any vehicle you need to drive cautiously no matter what time of day or night it is....and the driver already admitted seeing the flashers go on.
I'm sorry if this sounds like the blame game, but there has to be accountability and there needs to be consequences or else...well, you see and read everything that's happening these days, where are the consequences to make people think before they act, react, or don't react in this case?
Interested 6 months, 3 weeks ago
emb6683: I don't know that the light of day would have made any difference. If you see flashing yellow school bus lights (quite easy against a dark sky) don't you assume there are probably children nearby about to be picked up by the bus? To me that is just a logical conclusion - I don't need to actually see a child.
Not trying to blame the driver here. Mom, according to the story, said the driver came around a corner so this is possibly just a dangerous pick-up spot given the speed limit.
Toda 6 months, 3 weeks ago
I pray for the family and especially Slayton. Hopefully something good will come from this awful incident. The School Board should have this matter as the first matter of business to frame an understanding as to what occurred, all the facts, and develop insight into policy that will prevent this from happening again to our most precious resources - our children. I have seen way too many children standing on roadways early in the morning in fog, rain, and the breaking of day. Perhaps with the time change this weekend, there will be more daylight for students as well as drivers. This type of accident shouldn't be allowed to happen again...hopefully the School Board is listening.
OneNativfe 6 months, 3 weeks ago
The North Moore road has many blind spots and is a dangerous road. The time change where the kids get on the bus when it is so dark can't help. Furthermore, I think the yellow lights on the bus only confuse drivers. I drive a lot and I see the confusion often. They are never quite sure what to do when those yellow lights come on. To complicate the problem, some school buses will run down divided highways and other places with the yellow lights on all the time although I am not sure I can say that I have seen this in Moore county. Sounds like a lot of little things went wrong together that added up to a serious accident.
clbvpm 6 months, 3 weeks ago
North Moore indeed has may blind spots and where this occurred is one of those spots. The article says the driver was slowing down. This was an unfortunate accident with a lot of factors - the darkness, the blind spot, the dark clothes on the child and the way he ran into the road. Children should be taught to stay in the driveway until the bus is completely stopped. Then and only then should they move to the bus, AFTER looking both ways for approaching traffic. My prayers are with the child, his family, the driver of the truck, his family, the bus driver and the students on the bus who saw the accident.
mcguy1 6 months, 3 weeks ago
@ tgirl - clearly the driver of the truck was not trying to hurry up and get past the bus because trooper barber stated that he was not exceeding the posted speed limit. legally he did not have to stop due to only the amber colored flashing lights being on, so being he wasnt speeding he acknowledged the bus was there and was driving safe. if you want to play the blame game it should be towards the mother or child, she should not have let the child start into the road without the red lights and stop sigh being displayed on the bus and the child being 8 yrs old should know better than to run out into the road without looking both ways. the driver of the truck is not at fault, nor is the bus driver.
i know its just hear say but some of the neighbors around there have seen the child make unsafe movements into the highway before.
pinkylee 6 months, 3 weeks ago
OMG! Let's not forget here what is going on with this child. He is in very bad condition and there only needs to be a lot of praying going on for him. I cannot believe that mcguy1 even said what he said about what the neighbors are talking about. The child is 8 years old, almost every 8 yr old i know makes unsafe movements at times. The point is this is horrible for all involved and blaming only makes this worse. Just pray please!