Arizona
This is what bus safety looks like in southern Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The focus on safety on school buses is reaching new heights following a crash on Interstate 10 Tuesday that injured dozens of kids and staff.
However, local safety administrators are pumping the brakes on concerns over school bus safety in southern Arizona.
“A school bus is the safest means of transportation for our students and passengers,” said Teresa Ramirez, the southern Arizona board member for the Transportation Administrators of Arizona.
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Statistically, it is safer for children to travel on a bus than a car, with an average of six student deaths per year to 2,000 in a car, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
However, to analyze what safety standards are in place for buses in southern Arizona, administrators have to look at each district individually.
“Every district has the opportunity to design a fleet that is specifically for the needs of that district,” Ramirez said.
A district like the Tucson Unified, which has the largest number of bus users in southern Arizona, requires larger buses.
It can be limiting for safety features like seatbelts compared to smaller districts in rural communities that can use smaller buses or caravans with seatbelts to transport students.
But one common thread between all these buses is the design of the seats which do protect the children.
“We have the panels that are extremely high where it protects our students from lunging forward. We have the anti-air brakes in most of our busses,” Ramirez said.
The large seat cushions or panels are familiar to anyone who rode a bus growing up as the length of the seat provides a cushion to brace any impact from a potential crash.
“In the event of having to stop quickly, really what they do is prevent a student to going over a seat,” Ramirez said.
While Arizona saw more than a 50% decrease in bus crashes from 2012 to 2022, according to data from the ADOT, many still question if the cushions are enough in a high-speed crash.
“Seat belts are independently different due to what district you’re at and what your necessity is,” Ramirez said.
In 2018, the NTSB recommended that every state require seatbelts on buses, but Arizona has not implemented it.
That means it’s up to the individual districts to implement what they see fit.
“Typically, districts get together and talk about what is needed or necessary in their own district and what they have come across,” Ramirez said.
TUSD just received a new fleet of buses, and 13 News reached out to see if there are different safety features like seatbelts on those buses but we have not received a response yet.
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PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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