Ring camera captures SUV passing stopped school bus

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - A Virginia family’s Ring camera caught an SUV passing a stopped school bus as children were getting off on Sept. 3.

Erin Rebmann stepped onto her porch last Thursday afternoon, to watch her daughter get off the bus.

She works from home in the afternoons so she can meet her daughter’s bus. Rebmann said she watches the cars behind the bus to make sure they stop and make sure her daughter is following the rules of the road.

Rebmann was outside for less than 15 seconds when she turned her head and saw an SUV coming that was not slowing down.

In the Ring camera recording, the SUV can be seen passing the bus and the bus driver honks in an attempt to alert the driver. Rebmann can also be heard gasping as it passes.

“And in that moment, like I’m just holding my breath, just hoping. none of the kids start crossing. And thankfully they didn’t,” Rebmann said.

Children, including her first-grade daughter, got off the bus seconds later.

“As the person drove by, I looked at them, and you know in my head, I’m like, they have to be distracted. Like, who does that right? But, when I looked, the driver was looking straight ahead. Like, it’s not like they didn’t see the bus, they just kept driving,” Rebmann said.

The speed limit in the neighborhood is 25 mph.

Rebmann said this was the first time she had seen a driver pass a stopped bus that way, though she said she has since heard from other people that it happens more often than people think, particularly in neighborhoods.

“Like how bad that situation could have been had it been two seconds later. Just like complete shock that people have that tenacity to just not care enough for children to just drive past,” Rebmann said.

Rebmann said her daughter did not see the SUV pass from where she was standing on the bus, but that after the incident was explained to her, she said it was scary. She then used it as a teaching moment for her daughter.

“That is why we stop and look. The car did not stop like it was supposed to,” the Ring video caught her saying as she walked her daughter into the house.

Henrico County Public Schools said its buses do not have exterior cameras, but that school bus drivers and transportation staff alert police to areas where drivers fail to stop for buses.

“Passing a stopped bus is illegal, reckless and preventable. Saving a few seconds is never worth putting a child’s life at risk,” Eileen Cox, chief of communications for Henrico County Public Schools, said.

Rebmann said she hopes this incident will spark some changes and hopes the school system installs cameras on school buses to help identify drivers and license plates in these incidents.

Henrico Police said that even though the violation was recorded on camera, current law does not permit officers to issue citations based solely on such footage.

They said the law is based on Virginia Code Section 46.2-100, which defines a traffic infraction as neither a felony nor a misdemeanor, but as a violation of the law under Section 46.2-113.

Therefore, an officer must personally observe a traffic infraction to issue a citation.

Police said current law does permit reliance on evidence from photo speed-monitoring devices, such as radar- or LIDAR-based systems, when a law enforcement agency has an official contract with a vendor. Evidence must come from camera equipment that is professionally calibrated and maintained, and a law enforcement officer must inspect and certify the images.

Henrico County does not currently have a contract with a vendor for speed cameras in school zones or for stop-arm cameras on school buses, according to police.

According to data provided by Henrico Police:

• There were 50 violations for vehicles not stopping for stopped school buses during the 2025-26 school year (August 2025-June 2026)
• 28 violations year to date in 2026 (Jan. 1-Sept. 7, 2026)
• One violation so far in the 2026-27 school year (Aug. 24-Sept. 7, 2026)

Henrico Police said they would try to have an officer in the area during school dismissal time on Tuesday, but no officers were present at the time of the report.

A driver caught passing a stopped school bus can face a fine of up to $250 under Virginia Code Section 46.2-844.

The driver in this incident has not been identified or caught.