Student drowns while walking to school bus during flood, despite earlier cancellation of other bus routes.
In the small hours of a stormy Friday morning, 9-year-old Gabriel Andrews woke up early to catch his school bus on the last day before spring break. Torrential rainfalls had hammered Kentucky so fiercely, the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning until late morning for 13 counties, including Franklin County - home to the capital city of Frankfort, and Gabriel's family.
The weather alert, issued at 12:29 a.m., warned of flash flooding in various locations such as small creeks, urban areas, highways, underpasses, low-lying areas, and places with poor drainage. This flash flood warning stretched across 13 counties and was scheduled to end at 8:30 a.m.
Around 6:35 a.m., Gabriel ventured out of his home but never made it to the school bus, as reported by the Frankfort Police.
"It had been reported that he had been caught in floodwaters in the area of Hickory Hills while walking to the school bus stop," Assistant Chief of Police Scott Tracy explained.
First responders rushed to the scene and initiated a comprehensive search and rescue operation. Volunteers soon joined in the endeavor. At 8:47 a.m., Gabriel was located approximately half a mile from where he was believed to have been swept away, according to Franklin County Coroner William C. Harrod.
Gabriel was one of at least nine lives lost across multiple states due to a series of deadly storms that swept through the central United States. They generated numerous tornadoes, dropped over a foot of rain, and left devastating floods behind.
Although some residents claimed Gabriel's death was a tragic accident with no one to blame, some parents accused the school district of negligence for not postponing or canceling classes Friday - despite the widespread flood warning and the fact that the district had already canceled a couple of school bus routes earlier that day.
CNN reached out to the Franklin County Schools superintendent, the superintendent's assistant, and the school district's spokesperson for comment. In a statement, Superintendent Mark Kopp expressed condolences to the boy's family but did not provide a reason for the district's decision not to postpone or cancel school on that day.
At 5 a.m. ET Friday, Franklin County Schools announced on its website and Facebook page that two bus routes had been canceled. They provided details of the affected neighborhoods and informed parents that if their child rode one of these buses and was unable to attend school, they should contact their child's school. Later in the day, the school district posted an update dismissing rumors that schools were on lockdown and confirming that no schools were closed on Friday.
The mother of one of Gabriel's classmates questioned why Franklin County Schools did not cancel classes on Friday. The neighbors of Gabriel's family described the complex route the children had to follow to reach the bus stop, which included hopping over a drain filled with rushing water on that fateful day.
Franklin County Schools has not responded to CNN's questions about why only two school bus routes were canceled while the entire county was under a flash flood warning. The school district also did not explain why those two bus routes were canceled but expected the children to travel to school some other way.
The county coroner has not disclosed Gabriel's cause of death. His autopsy report is scheduled for Saturday, with results expected in approximately 16 to 20 weeks. Many questions remain unanswered about the young boy's tragic fate.
"This is an ongoing investigation by the Frankfort Police Department and Franklin County Coroner's Office," Harrod mentioned.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear offered condolences to Gabriel's family and emphasized the dangers of torrential rain and floodwater.
"My heart breaks for this family. Please join Britainy and me in praying for them following this unimaginable loss," Beshear posted on his Twitter account[1][2][3].
- Us, deeply saddened by the events, questioned the school district's decision not to postpone or cancel classes on the day Gabriel was caught in floodwaters, despite the widespread flood warning.
- The flash flood warning, delaying many activities, stretched across 13 counties, including Franklin County, the home of Gabriel and his family.
- Despite the school district claiming that they expressed condolences to Gabriel's family, us, the public, remain uncertain about the reasons behind their decisions that day, including why only two school bus routes were canceled while the entire county was under a flash flood warning.
