[Video courtesy of Shannon Guinther]
Ocala, Florida — On the morning of August 20, while waiting at the bus stop with his son, Shannon Guinther recorded a video of an impatient man driving around a school bus that had just boarded children in the 4000 block of 314A at Northeast 38th Lane Road. The bus’s stop arm was still deployed. The street is also a no passing zone.
As the man in the SUV drove by, parents began expressing their frustration toward the man.
The man, apparently referring to the school bus, replied, “If you all had a job, you wouldn’t f***ing need it.”
He then drove off as if nothing happened.
Guinther called the Marion County Sheriff’s Office from the scene, however, MCSO said that they could not do anything because they did not witness the incident.
At approximately 10 p.m., on the same day, following outrage from multiple parents, MCSO responded to Guinther’s home and took a written statement from him. MCSO also interviewed other parents present during the incident.
On August 21, MCSO stated that it was not a deputy, but rather the communications center that told Guinther that there was nothing that could be done about the driver going around the bus.
Tuesday, MCSO told Guinther that because of the video evidence, which allowed deputies to positively identify the driver as Marion County firefighter, Lieutenant Steve Maculewicz, he will be issued a moving citation.
The MCSO later confirmed that Maculewicz received a citation for Driving Around a Stopped School bus, which will cost him $271.00 and four points on his license.
Guinther will keep the original copy of the video on his cell phone in case Maculewicz attempts to fight the citation in court.
However, Maculewicz told the MCSO that he would not contest the citation in court, but he might enroll in a driver improvement course to have the points removed from his license.
From the beginning, parents have maintained that a citation would not be punishment enough, and have demanded Maculewicz be terminated from his position as a firefighter.
MCFR is still investigating.
You can read the original article here.
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