‘I want the kids safe’: Bluffton mom steps in as crossing guard at dangerous bus stop

It began with a horrifying incident on Wednesday, Aug. 23 — one that could have ended much worse than it did.

On that afternoon, four drivers sped past a stopped school bus while young students were being dropped off outside the Woodbridge community in Bluffton. Children, some as young as preschoolers, were left dodging cars and dropping to the ground amid a flurry of screams and honking horns, said parent Shannon Suits.

“After that, we decided it was time to act,” Suits said. Her mission to ensure every student’s safety in the neighborhood began with a bit of shopping: a neon green reflective vest from Home Depot and a handheld stop sign delivered overnight.

Suits takes her post as crossing guard each school day at 7:30 a.m. and again at 4:15 p.m. in an effort to bring some calm to the bus stop’s chaos, where two school buses make their daily stops in the center of a traffic circle.

While the vest and sign convey a sense of authority, Suits has none — nor is she being paid by the school district, local government or any of the neighboring housing developments.

Suits isn’t just there for her two sons, who both attend River Ridge Academy and take the bus every day. The stop’s current setup puts dozens of kids at risk every morning and afternoon, she says, while county officials and local property management companies have yet to act on her calls for change.

“It’s been an ongoing issue over the last several years, since I’ve been here, but this year has been the worst,” Suits said. “The traffic wasn’t stopping for the kids. (Drivers) were running the bus with the lights on and arm out.”

The two buses — one for high schoolers and the other for middle and elementary schoolers — stop in a triangle-shaped gap between lanes of the traffic circle, whose first two exits lead to the Woodbridge neighborhood, governed by a property owners’ association (POA). The northern exit leads to The Reserve at Woodbridge, a separate 214-unit gated community of apartment homes.

Bus riders come and go from both communities, requiring some students to cut across the traffic circle to begin a lengthy walk home — and sidewalks aren’t always a given. The connecting roads are all county-owned, but buses won’t drive further into the POA or through the apartments’ gateway.

Suits hasn’t missed being a bus stop presence since that day in late August, she says — with the exception of one day, when her husband Christopher donned the vest and kept her streak alive. She accounts for early dismissals as well, adjusting her work-from-home hours spent managing the couple’s pool services business.

Following the Aug. 23 incident, Suits made calls to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the school district’s bus garage. The bus driver reported the footage of the incident to his supervisor, Suits said, but the stop remains unattended as it has for the past two months.

“(River Ridge Academy) Principal Brian R. Ryman called the (Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office) to request having police presence at the bus stop, but nobody ever showed, so I’ve just been doing this on my own the whole time,” Suits said. “As a parent, you have to be responsible for the safety of your children. And if we let them go outside and play, why wouldn’t we make sure they’re safe at the bus, too?”

Michael Vassallo, the on-site property manager at the Reserve at Woodbridge apartments, said he would consider opening the complex’s gate for the bus once he received a request from the school district.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens said residents and officials alike can request extra patrols for specific areas in the county, but the department does not have sufficient resources to monitor the traffic circle every morning and afternoon.

A new start for the bus stop?

Recent developments suggest the days of dangerous drop-offs outside the Woodbridge communities may soon be coming to an end. An onlooker’s post about Suits’ traffic duties went viral on a local traffic-oriented Facebook group earlier this month, prompting a stream of support from neighbors and outsiders alike.

Representatives from the Beaufort County School District visited the traffic circle Wednesday afternoon to see the bus stop for themselves, also speaking with Suits about potential solutions. District spokesperson Candace Bruder said officials are “currently assessing if there is a viable alternative,” but that the amount of public space available outside the communities limits their options.

The county does employ crossing guards, Bruder confirmed, but they’re only stationed near school zones — never for traffic assistance at bus stops.

As Suits’ twice-daily routine garnered attention outside of the Woodbridge communities, some questioned whether her self-appointed position was technically legal.

Drivers at the Woodbridge traffic circle aren’t legally required to follow Suits’ directives, as she does not have traffic-directing authority through the county like police officers, firemen or uniformed school crossing guards, according to South Carolina law. Viens said Suits’ actions may be putting the woman at risk and could constitute a violation of pedestrian law, specifically related to the impeding of traffic.

But Suits says she’ll continue directing traffic until adjustments are made to the bus stop — even if that creates friction with county officials.

“I want the kids safe,” Suits said. “That’s all I really care about.”