A Tesla crossed the double yellow line and sped off on Chestnut Street near Griffin Road in Franklin as a student crossed the street at a school bus stop, and now police want the public's help tracking down the driver. Officers say the vehicle passed the stopped bus without waiting the few seconds it would have taken for the student to cross safely.
Franklin police are seeking the driver of the Tesla, according to CBS News, which reported that officers received video of the incident from Holmes Busing and Franklin Public Schools before posting it to Facebook. In the footage, a red sedan can be seen stopped on the other side of the road while the Tesla continues past the bus and the crossing student. Franklin, a town of roughly 33,000 people in Norfolk County about 40 miles southwest of Boston, has asked anyone who recognizes the car or its driver to come forward.
Police said information can be emailed to [email protected], and they urged the public to help make sure students can travel to and from school safely. The department has not said whether the driver has been identified, cited, or charged.
What Massachusetts Law Requires at a Bus Stop
State law requires drivers to stop whenever a school bus activates its red flashing lights and extends its stop sign, according to a report from WWLP. First-time offenders face a $250 fine, the station reports, while repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and face a driver's license suspension. It is not established whether the bus involved in the Franklin incident had its red lights and stop arm activated at the time.
This is not the first time Franklin police have flagged concerns about drivers around school buses. The department previously ran an operation called Operation Magic School Bus in partnership with Holmes Busing, according to Franklin Matters, after officers noted a rise in online complaints about vehicles around school buses picking up kids in the morning.
Other Massachusetts Towns Turn to Cameras
Franklin's search for a driver comes as other Massachusetts communities move toward camera-based enforcement instead of relying on tips. WWLP reports that Chicopee has installed an AI-powered camera system on its school buses to identify and ticket drivers who illegally pass them while stopped. Arlington is preparing a similar approach, with the Arlington Police Department and Arlington Public Schools launching a school bus safety enforcement program for the 2026-2027 school year, according to Patch.
Patch reports that the Arlington program will let police issue citations to vehicle owners when cameras capture them illegally passing a stopped school bus, after the town accepted a provision of a new state law in spring 2025 allowing video monitoring for these violations. It is not established whether Franklin has any plans to adopt bus-mounted cameras or issue citations based on video alone.
The danger these laws are meant to prevent keeps showing up on camera elsewhere. In Henrico County, Virginia, a family's Ring camera caught an SUV passing a stopped school bus as children were getting off on September 3, according to Western Mass News. That outlet reported Henrico Police logged 50 such violations during the 2025-26 school year and 28 more between January 1 and September 7 of this year. In Massachusetts, ABC7 reported that a student in Hadley was almost hit last September when a driver ignored a school bus stop sign.
