Driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville bonds out, sheriff says

STATESVILLE, N.C. — The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office just announced that Joshua Graham Padgett Jr. has bonded out and is out of custody, he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, March 16.

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North Carolina State Highway Patrol arrested Joseph Graham Padgett Jr., 35, of Statesville, at 2:10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Padgett is accused of nearly hitting two students at a school bus stop.

Padgett’s Kia Soul was seen on camera illegally passing a school bus in Statesville, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said.

It happened at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday on Old Mountain Road, according to the Iredell-Statesville School District. The school bus came to a stop and activated its stop sign on the side of the bus as the two children approached the street.

A light-colored Kia Soul with black wheels passed the bus on the left side and came within inches of striking one of the children. The other child appeared to be within a few feet of the car.

The bus was stopped on a two-lane road in a no-passing zone. Just as the children walked into the street, they had to scramble to run forward and avoid being hit by the car.

Padgett will be charged with passing a stopped school bus, driving while his license was revoked, careless and reckless driving, and improper passing.

He is currently at the Iredell County Detention Center under a $20,000 bond, troopers say.

On Friday, about a mile away from the bone-chilling incident, Channel 9′s Dave Faherty was on Old Mountain Road as state troopers and a tow truck entered the driveway of a nearby house. A car in the driveway matched the description of the Kia Soul seen in the video. Two people left the house and were being questioned by deputies.

Faherty also spoke with the children’s mother, who watched the entire incident unfold. She says she almost lost her second-grader to a reckless driver.

“She had amazing guardian angels watching over her,” the mother told Faherty, “That split second could’ve taken her, would’ve changed my life, and changed her sibling’s life.”

State troopers said Friday afternoon that there were five cases just last year in Iredell County where people illegally passed a stopped school bus.

According to the school district, drivers must stop their cars and wait until the red lights on a school bus stop flashing and the extended stop arm is withdrawn. Cars can begin moving again when the bus starts moving.

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