JESSIEVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) -- A Hot Springs man is dead tonight after state police say he was hit by a school bus in Jessieville early this morning.
It was all anyone in Jessieville could talk about on Monday; a 44 year-old man, hit and killed by a Jessieville School District bus. The people of that town are now shaken up.
"Something like this don't happen around here", said a Jessieville resident.
The small town of Jessieville is in mourning as a local husband and father was killed on busy Highway 7.
"It's not something you want to wake up to your first day back to school. I feel sorry for his kids and his wife," said Jessieville resident, Krystal Bean.
According to State Police, 44-year-old Steven Coons died after he was hit by a side mirror on a Jessieville School bus. Coons, they say, was walking with traffic southbound on Highway 7 around 6 a.m. when he was hit.
A first responder on the scene told THV11 that Coons was in the car with his wife and kids when they ran out of gas. Coons pulled over and started walking south in the dark. That first responder said that Coons only made it a few blocks before the accident.
The nearest gas station is only about 1/4 mile away. The people inside say it's a tragic situation for everyone involved.
"It was just a bad, bad accident for everybody. And that's what it was, just an accident", said Andrew Moore, the business owner.
Krystal Bean said Coons was very involved in the Jessieville School District.
"He's a watch dog at Jessieville School. He has children that attend there. He comes and reads to the kids in the classroom. He volunteers. He does a lot of things for the school," she explained.
Many in town, also know the school bus driver involved. They say the driver probably never saw Coons.
"There's a lot of family, a lot of hurt. It was a freak accident. And it had to happen on the first day back after the holidays; the first day back to school," added Bean.
The Jessieville School District released the following statement on Monday:
"We have lost a member of our community and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all of those involved in this tragic situation."
The school district has set up an account for the family of Steve C. Coons. Donations can be made at any Bank of the Ozarks location.
