Teenager waiting to board school bus sideswiped by hit-and-run driver (VIDEO)

MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- The search is on for a hit-and-run driver who sideswiped a 13-year-old boy as he boarded his school bus Tuesday morning.

Surveillance video from inside the school bus showed the other driver blowing past the red flashing lights on the bus, just as the boy edged closer into the street.

Matthew Ellis said he heard the bus’ horn honking but he thought the driver gave him the all-clear to cross the street.

“She was pointing at the car telling me not to go, but I thought she was motioning for me to go, not stop,” he said. “I wasn’t paying attention real well.”



The car clipped Mathew on the left arm and he thinks his foot may have been run over, too.

“It appeared on the tape that the driver did pause, slowed down, probably was checking the mirror and then saw the student was walking still and continued on,” said Tahoma School District spokesman Kevin Patterson.

“The driver blew through those red lights and that’s against the law.”

Matthew got on the bus and went to school after telling the driver he was OK.  He didn’t notice he was bleeding until the bus nearly finished the route.

Matthew’s stepmother believes the school bus driver should have inspected Matthew personally after the incident.

“The driver should have looked over Matthew right away,” said Deanna Willingham. “Shouldn’t have taken his word for it.”

The district believes the driver did the right thing by calling dispatch as soon as Matthew realized he was injured.

Meanwhile, the hit-and-run driver is still on the loose.

“It’s still not OK to drive right by buses,” Matthew said.

The King County Sheriff’s Office has a copy of the video and detectives are looking for clues hoping to identify the hit-and-run driver.

So far the only description of the vehicle is that it’s a small pickup truck.