An 8-year-old Cocoa boy suffered a broken leg after being struck by a car that reportedly drove around a stopped school bus Tuesday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

  • Boy, 8, struck while trying to cross street to school bus
  • Driver ticketed for passing a stopped school bus
  • Child reportedly suffered a broken leg, mom says

The crash happened at about 7:20 a.m. near the intersection of Friday Road and Frankie Lane in Brevard County.

Troopers said 24-year-old Paul Arrington, of Cocoa, drove his four-door Volkswagen around a school bus that was stopped with its light on and stop bar activated.

"A car just came out of nowhere and he didn’t stop and he hit my son," Mandi Ellis said.

Peyton Ellis was taken to Wuestoff Hospital with serious injuries.

Ellis' mother said her son has a broken leg and will likely be on crutches "for a few weeks."

"I'm really upset that there is nothing that can be done about him hitting my son," Mandi Ellis said of the suspected driver. "They said a ticket is pretty much all he's going to get."

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said passing a school bus is not a criminal offense, so a traffic ticket is what they legally can hand out.

"Had he been driving at a high rate of speed and doing something that constitutes reckless driving, then that could have been criminal," said Lt. Channing Taylor, of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Arrington was ticketed for passing a stopped school bus. He will have to make a mandatory court appearance because there were injuries. He could face fines of up to $1,000.

"This is all just terrible — I can't even describe it," Mandi Ellis said. "My son now has a broken leg because of this and he's on crutches. I'm just upset nothing can be done about this."