NC 12-year-old dragged, hit by school bus; driver charged

TAYLORTOWN, N.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy in North Carolina was dragged and hit by his school bus after his backpack got caught in its doors and dropped him in the path of an oncoming tire.

Zion Baker tells reporters he was getting off the West Pine Middle School bus in Taylortown last week when the doors closed around his backpack and the driver took off. He says he was briefly dragged, but freed himself and dropped onto the road, where his left arm was run over and fractured.

Sarena Thomas tells WNCN-TV her son was only on the bus because his cross country practice had been canceled due to high heat.

WRAL-TV reports 43-year-old driver Kim Crawford is charged with reckless driving. The school district says the driver isn’t currently driving a bus.