A shocking surveillance video showed 14-year-old Jerry Cunningham falling under a Broward County Transit bus after he got stuck in its doors while trying to catch it for his mother. The Florida teenager was ran over, he is in critical condition.
Jerry Cunningham, of Pompano Beach, got his arm stuck in the door of the bus and fell under the back wheels as it pulled away from a stop, on May 10, according to ABC 10. His mother was a few yards behind him.
Horrified passengers screamed for the driver to stop but 55-year-old Reinaldo Soto didn’t stop because reportedly was unable to see the boy as two passengers were blocking his view. The Broward County sheriff is investigating if the driver Reinaldo Soto, who has been driving for more than a decade, had any fault in the incident. According to driver records, Soto has been involved in many minor accidents before, none of which resulted in injuries. He was placed on administrative leave, ABC 10 reported.
According to the surveillance video and some witnesses, the bus was making its stop on Route 34 around 9:00 a.m. Passengers reportedly told Soto that “a runner is coming” meaning that someone was trying to catch the bus before it left.
The video showed Cunningham reaching the double doors as they closed. Then the bus started pulling away, and he is running alongside it banging the doors with his hand. Also, one rider seems to have signaled to Soto that Cunningham was trying to board, but Soto allegedly raised his hands and shoulders.
“I told the bus driver to stop and he wouldn’t and the child fell under the bus,” the rider told ABC 10.
The teenager ended up falling under the 20-ton bus. The bus stopped and many witnesses, including Jerry’s mother who saw her son fall under the vehicle, ran to aid him.
Jerry Cunningham remains in a medically-induced coma at Broward Health Medical Center, with fractures to his face, ribs and ankle, according to The Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
