A Florida police officer has been formally disciplined after driving recklessly in a residential neighborhood and almost hitting a family of six.
The family says they have been scarred by the incident and are hoping more can be done, especially since a video of the incident exists.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, Donna Banner was waiting for the school bus with her teenage child and four grandchildren near her driveway outside of her Sunrise, Florida, home when they were almost hit by a Coral Springs Police SUV speeding down the street. The cruiser, according to WSVN, veered into the front yard after swerving to avoid hitting a stopped car.
The officer never stopped to check on anyone standing near the yard and instead drove off.
Home security video captured a car abruptly stopping for a school bus that was out of view and the SUV frantically plowing through Banner’s property.
On the video, the bus driver’s horn sounds off to warn the car as it is moving so fast. Banner is also heard screaming loudly.
“I grabbed the kids because I was so shook, and it’s like the police officer wasn’t paying attention,” Banner recalled.
“He almost hit me. I froze, but then, I realized I had to jump out of the way,” Za’Kayla Ford, Banner’s 11-year-old granddaughter, said.
Denise Ford, the children’s mother, said when she heard about the incident, she was “shocked” that an officer was so careless, and now is as “traumatized” as her children.
“I was shocked. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Anything could have happened. I could have lost four of my kids,” Ford said. “What if you would have hit my kids? You didn’t stop to say, ‘Hey, is they okay?’ I was traumatized. I was like, ‘Lord, have mercy.’ Like what if?”
Ford revealed that Za’Kayla continues to have pain in her neck and leg because of the near accident and, as a result, has not returned to school.
The Coral Springs Police Department says the video was sent to them, and they promptly launched an investigation and took the appropriate action, NBC 6 News states.
While the officer’s name has not been revealed, the chief of police, Bradley McKeone, commented and said the department has implemented “formal discipline” to the cop.
“We were able to identify the officer who was driving the vehicle. That officer has been issued formal discipline,” McKeone said, according to Local 12.
It is unclear if charges against the officer were brought in Coral Springs.
The incident is further complicated because the family hadn’t reported the speeding to their local police agency, so Sunrise authorities reportedly could not issue charges or traffic violation citations.
Banner, Ford, and the children would like more action against the officer, especially since a video exists. Still, they are grateful that no one was physically injured by the incautious driving.
“Without the video, nothing would have been done. It would have been my word against the police’s word,” Ford said.
