Distracted Driver Charged in Hille School Bus Crash
Franklin Buttron, 27, was charged with improper lane use and driving too fast for conditions following a crash between a Hille Middle School bus and his car. Three students were sent to area hospitals for injuries.
Franklin Buttron, 27, of the 8600 block of S. 82nd Ave. in Hickory Hills, was charged with driving too fast for conditions and improper lane use after a crash involving a Jack Hille Middle School Bus and a car, Oak Forest Police Chief Greg Anderson said.
“The guy ran right into the front of the bus. He was apparently distracted by some papers or something and ran right into the front of the bus,” Anderson said.
Anderson said three students were taken to area hospitals for treatment of injuries.
“Any time a kid gets transported, I'm not going to say it was minor injuries,” Anderson said. “But there were no real serious injuries that we're aware of.”
Anderson said the accident highlights what he believes to be a major problem for today's drivers: distracted driving.
“This highlights the problem of distracted driving,” Anderson said. “Whether it's smoking, eating, texting, cell phone or whatever else. Distracted driving is probably the largest cause of accidents nowadays.”
An earlier version of this report stated that Buttron was an Oak Forest resident. Patch regrets the error.
Bob Laird
2:08 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
coming home on 294 yesterday I had this chucklehead behind me holding an I-pad on his steering wheel. they live among us.
Mike F.
8:10 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Today I recieved a text message while I was driving. I waited until I could safely pull off the road and put my car in Park before I read it.
Tired of the B.S.
4:37 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
How can Franklin Buttron be an Oak Forest resident when his address is in Hickory Hills?
Mike F.
8:10 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
He could've just moved into the area recently and not updated his address with the Secretary of State's office.
Baba Wawa
11:25 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
I'm sure he provided his current address to the police, who in turn put it in their reports and Patch got it from there. Patch apparently made an error. The SouthTown had him living in Hickory Hills.
Tired of the B.S.
3:00 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012
I drove by there and noticed that the resident at the corner now has hi/her truck parked in the driveway. Seems like that may solve the congestion problem at that corner.
Jill Rockrohr Sleeman
12:07 am on Saturday, August 25, 2012
I wish people would stop causing unnecessary accidents in this town. I have 7 children and I am a nervous wreck until each one walks through the door from school.
Michael M.
7:12 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012
Was the driver REALLY distracted? The headline says he was, but the story says "Franklin Buttron, 27, was charged with improper lane use and driving too fast for conditions following a crash between a Hille Middle School bus and his car." Where is the charge for distracted driving? The Chief says he was distracted by something; it almost sounds like he is guessing.
What I am getting at is that the media places a headline like that and people think that is what happened, when it may not be what happened.