While the euphoria of Tuesday night’s historic passage of the $83 million school bond referendum remained fresh in the minds of the community, a near tragedy dampened the mood Wednesday afternoon when a second-grader from Dana Road Elementary was struck by a vehicle while exiting a school bus on Washington Street.

Fortunately, she is believed to be recovering and expected to make a fully recovery from her injuries. It could have been so much worse.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the 9-year-old girl was arrested at the scene and is facing a felony charge for passing the stopped school bus. The charge is a felony because a pedestrian was injured.

Ditanun Demon Simpson, 30, who was driving the car, is also facing misdemeanor charges of no drivers license, no proof of insurance and reckless driving.

Witnesses at the scene and the driver of the bus said the bus’s stop sign and arm were out as students unloaded, but Simpson failed to come to a complete stop at anytime before hitting the student as she crossed to her home on the opposite side of Washington Street from the fire station.

Simpson had his initial court appearance today.

Why he didn’t stop when it was obvious the bus was stopped and its sign engaged is unknown at this time, but his actions were senseless, inexcusable and negligent. He should pay for what he did.

And he will.

But it took the death of another young boy for the law in Mississippi to be stiffened for passing a stopped school bus and causing bodily harm.

The school bus safety law known as “Nathan’s Law” was implemented after Nathan Key, a 5-year-old who was killed in Jones County in 2009 when a driver of a vehicle passed a stopped school bus and struck the child.

Thankfully, this young girl is expected to survive, but drivers who pass stopped school buses should face the full extent of the law and the rest of us should be mindful of school buses.