PASCO COUNTY, Fla.— Viral video shows a Hudson woman deciding to take matters into her own hands when it comes to the safety of kids at a school bus stop in Port Richey.
Monica Douglas recorded images of people blowing past the school bus, even though the vehicle’s stop sign was extended and warning lights were flashing.
Douglas’ videos caught the attention of Pasco deputies, and now they’re catching people who break the law.
“Why can’t you just take five minutes out of your time?” asked Douglas. “Why wouldn’t you stop to protect any child? What if that was your child that got hit?”
Douglas says she and two of her friends started taking videos a couple of months ago, tired of the danger their kids were in every day when they got on and off the bus.
“We looked at each other, and we were like, screw that. No, let’s make a difference. So, we started recording,” she said.
In the video, Douglas can be heard shouting at drivers, then taking delight in them being pulled over by deputies.
“Bus is still stopped with the lights on – look – just so you know!” she shouts to a vehicle passing the school bus.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office caught wind of the videos, and for the past couple of days, the agency has sent several deputies to the area where Douglas had documented the problem.
“You get the truck, I’ll get the red and black car,” one deputy says to another on bodycam video released by Pasco SO.
The deputies can be seen moving their cruisers into position, creating a blockade in the northbound lanes of U.S. 19, then making every last one of those drivers who blew past the bus pull over for a ticket.
“Park on the side of the road,” they shout. “Pull over.”
“They could hear me yelling at them. My friends would laugh at me,” said Douglas. “'They can’t hear you in the car!' I would say they can hear me!”
Since sharing the video and her shoutout to cops, Douglas’s social media account has blown up. Hundreds of people have taken time to praise her and her friends for doing what’s right by the kids.
They hope it sends a message to drivers, convincing them to slow down.
And to those who might have to pay a hefty fine stemming from their video vigilantism? No sympathy from Douglas.
“What do you get? A measly $275 ticket?” said Douglas. “Do you think that’s going to pay for my child’s life? I don’t think so.”
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