Champa was arrested by Horry County Police on Nov. Champa is accused of riding in front of the bus, preventing it from getting around him by moving in its path and slowing the bus down to 5 mph, an arrest warrant said. His goal was not to get arrested, Champa said, but to make the bus slow down. Champa said buses have been speeding through the neighborhood, going well over the 15 mph speed limit posted on Crusade Circle, where Champa lives with his year-old mother.
I was at my wits end. Champa claims that he and his neighbors have been dealing with speeding buses for about three years. He has called the Horry County Schools Transportation department and complained, pleading with them to have the buses slow down, but is always met with the same answer. Champa violated South Carolina Code Title 59βEducation, Chapter 67, Section concerning interference with the operation of a school bus.
As stated, no person shall willfully interfere with the school bus operations. When asked for GPS data on the buses that travel the street, Bourcier said a Freedom of Information Act request would have to be filed for the information. Some part of the confusion regarding speed could be that the street where Champa lives has a 15 mph speed limit. However, on Drawbridge Drive, the next street over, the speed limit is 25 mph.
Champa said there are children who live along the narrow street, many of them young. Champa was paralyzed after a car accident in Since that time, the Marine veteran has been in a wheelchair.
Other neighbors also have raised concerns about the speeding and a petition to get speed bumps placed along the roadway was signed by many residents. It is unclear if speed bumps will eventually be placed along the street. Neighbor Ken Cockerham said he has seen the buses speed in the neighborhood. He will walk his daughter to the bus stop in the morning, and by the time he is walking back to his home, the bus has already looped around and passed him, Cockerham said.
