Teen is struck and killed by school bus on crosswalk steps from campus

A high school senior in Florida was struck and killed by a school bus on a crosswalk as he rode his bike up to the campus.

Seventeen-year-old Sherman Vannoy was hit just before 7am outside Lake Minneola High School in Clermont on Monday, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

He was biking on the sidewalk of Hancock Road when he reached an intersection with a stop sign and began crossing the marked crosswalk.

A school bus driver, a 78-year-old woman who has not been named, was travelling southbound on the road and turned left to the campus without noticing Sherman in the road, police said.

In an attempt to avoid the teen, she swerved and crashed into a fence, but the front of the bus still struck him as it turned.

Sherman was transported to South Lake Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The bus driver was reportedly distraught and in tears at what happened and remained at the scene to cooperate with investigators. Colleagues were seen consoling her.

The driver was hired back in November 2021 and was only transporting one disabled student that morning. Neither she nor the student were injured.

“Our thoughts, our prayers, our hearts go out to the families of all that are involved. We are continuing to work with the family and offer our support to our students and our staff,” Sherri Owens, the communications coordinator for the school told WKMG, who also said that special grievance counselors had been bought in on Monday to help students or staff deal with the tragic loss.

Throughout the day a growing memorial was produced by students and the community leaving flowers where Sherman’s life was cut short.

“It’s just not what you plan on seeing at 6.45am in the morning,” said Meghan Vangilder, the victim’s friend and student at the school told the outlet, after learning about the tragedy in class. “We all just started crying.”

All after-school activities were cancelled on Monday, but the Lake Minneola High football game went ahead with a special tribute to Sherman before kick-off.

The football players and the crowd all bowed their heads and joined in a moment of silence to honour the teen.

“Lake County Schools are all one community and when one area mourns they all mourn… the student body is very strong and they all care about each other,” Kim Schnacky, a parent of an 11th-grader told the local outlet,  who got a call from the school earlier in the day which informed her about the tragedy.

The accident came almost a year after a 14-year-old student at Lake Minneola High was killed in a hit-and-run in November 2022.

The local police are still investigating the crash after gathering evidence and taking measurements at the scene.