Children Mourn Beloved Elementary School Principal Who Saved Students in Bus Crash
— -- More than 1,000 mourners, including children, gathered for the funeral of a beloved Indiana elementary school principal who died after jumping in front of a bus to protect young students.
Susan Jordan, the longtime principal at Amy Beverland Elementary School, died Tuesday after being hit when a bus lurched onto the curb outside of the school, authorities said. Two 10-year-old students were also hit, and they were hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
The bus driver said that she saw Jordan push students out of the way before being hit, Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Rita Teith told ABC News.
Among the mourners at Jordan's funeral Saturday were small children, including at least one of the students Jordan helped save, according to ABC affiliate WRTV in Indianapolis.
"What she did that afternoon was a heroic act, but Tuesday didn't make principal Jordan a hero," Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said according to WRTV. "She had been a hero long before Tuesday."
Jordan's daughter, Lisa Jankowski said, "My mom had a lot of favorite sayings or life lessons, as my beautiful sister would say, and one of them was this: A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
Indianapolis Police Sgt. Kendale Adams told ABC News today that the crash appeared to be an accident.
No charges have been filed against the bus driver, Adams said, adding that he doesn't expect there to be any charges, but that is ultimately up to the prosecutor's office.
The investigation is ongoing, Adams said. Police are awaiting toxicology exam results, but Adams said "there is no early indications of alcohol use."
