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Girl's family made many bus complaints

Brooke Ingoldsby's parents emotionally recount their yearlong fight with Pinellas schools' transportation system.

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published February 20, 2005

	[Times photo: Lara Cerri]
	Michelle Allen spoke for the first time Saturday about her daughter's Feb. 11 death.

ST. PETERSBURG - The day Brooke Ingoldsby was killed crossing a busy street, her grandmother had been waiting more than an hour for her to get off her school bus.

But the bus never came.

Nancy Allen drove a block back to the family's apartment to check with Brooke's stepfather. Perhaps the child was home already. She wasn't.

Brooke's stepfather, Christopher Allen, called his wife, Michelle, who called the school system's transportation department. He also called Brooke's great-aunt, Karen Severance, who drove to James B. Sanderlin Elementary, where Brooke was a third-grader.

The grandmother, Nancy Allen, rushed back to the bus stop at 90th Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N.

When she got there, she saw Brooke's book bag lying on the ground.

Frantic, she called Brooke's stepfather, who raced to the accident scene.

A St. Petersburg police officer told them that Brooke was being taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

On the way to the hospital, Nancy Allen called Brooke's mother to tell her that her daughter had been hit by a sport utility vehicle.

Brooke, who suffered lung and liver damage, multiple broken bones and serious head trauma, died several hours later.

The family learned later that Brooke had been dropped off on the wrong side of the busy street by a substitute bus driver.

Christopher and Michelle Allen outlined the chain of events from Feb. 11 at a news conference Saturday. It was the first time the couple had spoken to reporters since their daughter's death.

In a prepared statement, the Allens made it clear their struggle with the transportation department did not begin with Brooke's death, a tragedy district officials say was caused by "a really horrible set of mistakes."

The problems began a year ago, Michelle Allen said, shortly after the family moved to St. Petersburg from Edwards, N.Y.

One afternoon in February 2004, Brooke was dropped off early at her bus stop and left there alone, Brooke's mother said. Michelle Allen was especially concerned because 11-year-old Carlie Brucia had recently been abducted from a Sarasota carwash.

When she complained to transportation officials, she was told it was not their policy to watch a child until he or she was picked up.

The Allens began driving Brooke to school after that. Brooke started taking the bus again when the family moved from Coquina Key to north St. Petersburg three weeks ago.

More "sporadic dropoffs" occurred, Michelle Allen said. Brooke complained about children screaming and yelling on the bus.

Michelle Allen made so many phone calls to transportation officials that she added the department's phone number to a card she carried in her purse that listed other important school numbers.

Just four days before the accident, she had called to report that Brooke's bus was 20 minutes late. She was told there was nothing the department could do about it, she said.

"We place our children in their care, yet they seem to feel they owe us nothing, not even an explanation when things go wrong," she said.

The Allens' statement also detailed their concern regarding William A. Ralston, the substitute who was driving Brooke's bus the day she was killed.

When first questioned by district officials, Ralston said Brooke was dropped off on the wrong side of King Street because of a miscommunication with the district.

On Wednesday, the day of Brooke's funeral, officials confirmed that Ralston had lied to investigators by fabricating a list of bus stops while still at the accident scene.

"Perhaps most disturbing to us is not the fact that this driver watched our little Brooke get killed right before his eyes, but that immediately after watching this tragedy unfold, he quickly had the forethought to conjure up a lie to conceal his error," Michelle Allen read. "A normal person with typical human emotions would have been too shocked and horrified to think straight, but this driver, judging from his actions, apparently cared more about making sure nobody blamed him."

The Allens have decided to take legal action, although they have not worked out details or hired a lawyer.

Michelle Allen described herself as an extremely protective mother who would not allow Brooke to cross streets unsupervised even within the family's apartment complex. She said she always waited at Brooke's bus stop until the bus pulled away.

When she was unable to drop Brooke off or pick her up at the bus stop, another family member filled in for her.

She said she had told Brooke on the morning of her death that her grandmother, who was visiting from New York, would be at the bus stop to pick her up that afternoon.

Christopher Allen sat beside his wife throughout the news conference, his hand caressing her back. A banner bearing Brooke's image hung behind the couple, the same banner that appeared at a Tuesday night visitation service and at the funeral on Wednesday.

Michelle Allen dabbed at her eyes several times. She struggled at times for composure.

After she finished reading a statement, she answered a reporter's question about whether she felt things would have worked out differently if a family member had been at the scene when the accident occurred.

"I don't think we could have stopped it," she said. "I feel that for some reason beyond our knowing, God allowed our family not to see what happened."

When asked how the family is coping with its loss, Christopher Allen responded: "We know where she is. One of the biggest comforts we have is that we'll see her again."

Pinellas school superintendent Clayton Wilcox could not be reached Saturday for comment.

A meeting with School Board members is scheduled for Monday to discuss a reorganization of the transportation department that would divide it into three regions, each with its own team of supervisors, drivers and support staff.

Wilcox announced the reorganization in December, two months after 16-year-old Rebecca McKinney, a Clearwater High student, was struck and killed by a pickup as she crossed the six lanes of McMullen-Booth Road after getting off her school bus.

At a news conference Saturday, Michelle Allen, Brooke Ingoldsby's mother, gave an account of events that unfolded the day her daughter was struck and killed.

3:40 P.M.: Brooke's grandmother, Nancy Allen, waits at Brooke's bus stop at 90th Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N.

4:40 P.M.: Allen drives back to the family's apartment to tell Brooke's stepfather, Christopher Allen, that the bus is more than an hour late.

4:45 P.M.: Christopher Allen calls his wife, Michelle, at work to get the phone number for Brooke's school. He calls Brooke's great-aunt, who drives to Brooke's school. Nancy Allen returns to the bus stop and finds Brooke's book bag on the ground. She calls Brooke's stepfather, who meets her at the scene. A St. Petersburg police officer drives them to Bayfront Medical Center. On the way, Nancy Allen calls Brooke's mother to tell her Brooke has been in an accident.

5:15 P.M.: A hospital chaplain explains to the family that Brooke is in serious condition.

5:20 P.M.: A hospital staff member confirms what the chaplain has said. The staff member tells the family Brooke has suffered lung and liver damage and that she has multiple broken bones and serious head trauma.

6:30 P.M.: The family is allowed into the trauma room to sit by Brooke's side while awaiting the results of an MRI.

7:30 P.M.: Family members learn that Brooke is brain dead. They gather around her bed to say their goodbyes.

8:15 P.M.: Brooke Ingoldsby dies due to internal bleeding and pressure on her heart.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 01:16:34]