themorningcall.com
Amid grief, probe of boy's death goes on
School officials and police continue to piece together how a 12-year-old boy fell under a passing school bus at Northampton Area Middle School.
By Pamela Lehman
Of The Morning Call
January 28, 2009
School officials and police continue to piece together how a 12-year-old boy fell under a passing school bus at Northampton Area Middle School.
Students are being interviewed to determine if Dakota Galusha, who died shortly afterward, might have been pushed toward the bus as he walked to the school about 7:15 a.m. Monday, said Superintendent Linda Firestone.
She said it will be up to the Northampton County district attorney's office to determine if any charges are filed.
Although District Attorney John Morganelli commented to several media outlets about the status of the investigation, through a secretary he declined to comment to The Morning Call.
Dakota's death was ruled a homicide Monday by the Lehigh County coroner's office, but that doesn't necessarily mean a criminal act occurred. Typically prosecutors can rule if a homicide is accidental, criminal, justifiable or negligent.
A spokesman for the boy's family has said his parents, Kendall and Dina Galusha, believe Dakota's death was an accident.
Firestone said school officials will have meetings this week to determine if any changes are needed in the district's policies for busing or dropping off students at the schools.
Officials hoped to possibly find answers in a surveillance tape from a video camera positioned near the area where Dakota was struck. But Firestone said the camera was pointed in the opposite direction. She said that is the normal angle for the camera.
School buses are rarely involved in fatal accidents involving student pedestrians. According to the most recent data from the state Department of Transportation, four school-age pedestrians were killed from 2000 to 2007 in Pennsylvania; seven other pedestrians were fatally injured in school bus accidents during that time.
The Northampton Area School District last year reported 17 people were injured -- but none killed -- in bus accidents between 2000 and 2007. The Morning Call last year surveyed all of the region's school districts, asking them for data on school bus-related injuries.
Of the 17 injured people, all were students but one -- a bus driver. The district did not provide information about the extent of the injuries, but none was serious.
In one 2006 incident, a bus driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed while driving 35 Northampton Area High School students. Seven students had minor injuries.
Tuesday morning outside the middle school, about a dozen students gathered at a memorial that continued to grow with pictures, messages, cards and balloons.
Piefka Stonewall, a seventh-grader, had played basketball with Dakota, who came off the bench at a game last weekend.
"We had a game Sunday, and we were winning and coach let him play the whole second half," Piefka said. "He scored six points. That's the most he's ever scored."
Kayla Kulp, an eighth-grade student, made a poster using each letter of Dakota's name to describe him: Determined, Admirable, Kind, Outgoing, Talented and Amazing.
KidsPeace sent its crisis response team of 12 counselors to the school to help students who saw the bus hit Dakota or who knew him.
Parents who feel their children might have problems coping with what happened can help by taking time out to talk about Dakota's death, said Peter Langman, clinical director of Pennsylvania residential programs at KidsPeace.
"Kids that are feeling anxious, feeling angry or feeling like they can't concentrate -- those are all normal, and they need to know there's nothing wrong with them," Langman said.
He said parents should closely monitor their children to make sure the normal grieving process doesn't give way to depression.
If children stop talking to friends or drop out of activities, it could suggest serious depression and the child might need counseling, Langman said.
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