Update: Driver speaks out about fatal accident

September 19 will forever live in Joe Gomez Jr.'s mind.

"My deepest condolences to her family," Gomez said of Karen Scroggins, the school bus driver killed when struck by his car. "Her memory will be held in my heart for the rest of my life. Monday morning  will forever be in my memory as the day my life stood still."

Scroggins, a 58-year-old Caddo Parish Schools employee, died from injuries she suffered when Gomez's car struck her as he was driving to work and as she crossed a road to her bus, authorities said.

Scroggins, a resident of the C&H Mobile Home Park in Keithville, was hit by Gomez's Toyota Tercel while crossing the 12000 block of Mansfield Road. She parked the bus across Mansfield Road from her mobile home.

"She was a really friendly person and loved her grandchildren," Larry Byrd, a family friend, said Monday afternoon while viewing where she was struck. "We heard that the man who was driving the car sees her every morning. I guess he didn't see her this morning, which is terrible.

"I guess you never know."

Gomez, 38, of Logansport, told authorities that he didn't see Scroggins crossing the street until too late and tried to avoid the impact, according to police. Police say Mansfield Road often is heavily traveled.

Authorities said Monday that Gomez initially told authorities he'd seen a woman cross Mansfield Road to the school bus on other mornings. Tuesday, he told The Times by email that he'd never seen her before Monday morning.

"I specifically told the deputy that once I seen that an older women was laying on the ground, I think it's the lady who drives that bus," Gomez told The Times.

With limited sidewalk access along Mansfield, neighbors worry when pedestrians cross Mansfield Road.

Wanda Frasier, a neighbor and friend, said Scroggins drove a school bus because she loved picking students up for school. They became close friends after Scroggins moved into the mobile home park 12 years ago.

"I just saw her last night," Fraiser said, teary-eyed. "She usually carries the strobe light across the street in the morning time, and she'll wave it in the air. Several times she's had cars going by really fast and has one bad knee that needs surgery, and another one that's already had surgery.

"She has to wait a long time for cars and is usually real careful about crossing the street. I don't know what happened."

Frasier added: "She's a wonderful and giving person. I met her when she was walking across the street and stopped to ask her if she needed a ride. At that time, I didn't know she was a school bus driver. She said, 'No, I'm just going across the street to my bus. It'll be okay.' That's how our friendship started."

Frasier said Scroggins lived alone.

Byrd, the family friend, said Scroggins left early every morning so she wouldn't be late picking students up. Monday's sunrise was at 7:02 a.m.

Scroggins joined Caddo schools as a bus driver in September 2002, according to district spokeswoman Mary Nash-Wood.

“This morning, like so many before it, Ms. Scroggins began the day eager to greet her students and safely transport them to Caddo Parish Magnet High School and Caddo Career & Technology Center," Nash-Wood said in an email. "The district mourns the loss of Ms. Scroggins while fondly remembering with great gratitude her unwavering commitment to the students for which she deeply cared.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and her Caddo Schools family.”

Scroggins was taken by ambulance to University Health, where she later died. Another bus was sent to cover the route, Nash-Wood said.

Authorities said investigators had questioned Gomez. No charges had been filed. The accident remained under investigation by the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Traffic Safety Unit.