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What is 'Addy's Law' in Georgia?
School buses could be change routes to make picking up children easier if "Addy's Law" passes in Georgia.
HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - The law a Henry County family has pushed for after losing their 8-year-old in a tragic crash, is now an official bill waiting to be heard in this year’s legislative session.
SB 492 or ‘Addy's Law’ would make sure children wouldn't have to cross busy streets to get on their school bus.
The one-page bill only says that school districts must "ensure that any stop at which a student is required to enter or exit the school bus is located upon the same side of the roadway as the door to the bus."
Who is Addy’s Law named after?
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Girl, 8, struck by car at school bus stop dies
The 8-year-old girl was was struck by car after getting off her school bus along a rural Henry County roadway has died. A 25-year-old woman has been arrested and charges with vehicular homicide.
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long is a relative of 8-year-old Adalynn Pierce.
He says her immediate family has had an extremely tough time trying to process her sudden and tragic loss.
"You want to help, but what do you tell somebody that just watched their 8-year-old daughter get hit by a car?" Long said.
Adalynn was hit while she was crossing Jackson Lake Road from her home two weeks ago to get on her school bus.
A driver drove around the bus and hit her.
Kaylee Andre, 25, has been charged with her death.
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Court appearance for driver charged in 8-year-old's death
25-year-old Kaylee Andre is charged with vehicular homicide after she struck and killed 8-year-old Adalynn Pierce, according to police. Andre made her first court appearance in Henry County on Monday.
Fight to pass SB 492
Shortly after the crash, Adalynn’s sisters started a petition to create 'Addy's Law,’ which has now garnered more than 18,000 signatures.
Sheriff Long saw their petition and wanted to help.
"So, I reached out to our delegation, our State Rep. and Senator Williams from the 25th… the next day Senator Williams texts me back, and he said, ‘I'm starting to draft Addy's Law.’"
State Sen. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville, said he wasted no time getting this bill drafted so that it could be considered during the current legislative session.
"I got with the legislative counsel here at the capitol and said, ‘we've got to address this issue. We've got to make sure that we don't lose another child getting on a school bus.’" Williams said.
A 25-year-old woman was charged with hitting an 8-year-old girl, who getting off a Henry County school bus with her car, killing her. (FOX 5)
School districts must reorganize bus routes
Williams acknowledges this would mean that many school districts would have to reorganize bus routes.
And he said the state's school bus driver shortage won't make this any easier, although he added this bill is not meant to put strain on existing bus drivers.
"We realize it's going to take some logistic work, but that logistic work could save a life," Williams said.
Sheriff Long says this law would be just one part of Adalynn's already incredible legacy.
"After her death, eight people continued in life because of her organs. Seventy-five because of her tissue and her blood type was so rare, that hundreds of kids with cancer are benefiting today. And now she is literally changing laws in the State of Georgia," Long said.
Sen. Williams told us he’s confident the bill can be passed into law during this session.
"We're trying to get a hearing on it now through committee. We've got time to get it through committee. So, then we can make crossover days so that this bill would go over to the House and it could be debated and even try to get it on through the House and get it to the governor's desk," Sen. Williams said.