INDIANAPOLIS — An elementary school principal who was fatally hit by a bus outside her Indianapolis school made it a point to get to know every student and bring out the best in each of them, her colleagues said Wednesday.
Susan Jordan was killed Tuesday afternoon when a bus suddenly lurched forward and struck her outside Amy Beverland Elementary School. The bus driver told firefighters that she saw Jordan push several students out of the way as the bus suddenly jolted over a curb.
Jordan had been principal of the school for 22 years.
‘‘She expected the best out of everyone and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that any child that attended that school is going to be successful,’’ Amy Bilyeu, president of the school’s parent-faculty organization, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Denna Renbarger, director of early childhood education for the school district, added that Jordan ‘‘owned that school. She loved that school with every inch of her.’’
Police said an initial investigation found no mechanical problems on the bus and that the driver showed no visible signs of impairment. The investigation was ongoing into the crash, which also injured two 10-year-old students, but authorities are ‘‘going off the premise this was a tragic and unfortunate accident,’’ Indianapolis Police Sergeant Kendale Adams said.
The accident occurred while the bus was parked in a line with other buses near a sidewalk outside the school. The two injured students were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said.
Lawrence Township school district officials canceled classes at all of the district’s schools on Wednesday, but some students chose to go to the elementary school to make banners and write messages to remember their principal.
About 1,000 people also attended a prayer vigil at a church near the school, school district spokeswoman Dana Altemeyer said.
Associated Press