Driver arrested after illegally passing school bus and nearly hitting a child

Driver illegally passes stopped AISD school bus

Austin ISD provided an update on the arrest of a driver who illegally passed a school bus and narrowly missed hitting a child.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD provided an update on the arrest of a driver who illegally passed a school bus and narrowly missed hitting a child.

The backstory:

Video from the bus camera shows a truck zooming by on the right side, on the unpaved part of the road, just as a 12-year-old student is about to get off the bus. 

The driver has been identified as Deray Marion, 31. He is charged with endangering a child, which is a state jail felony.

Deray Marion, 31

The incident happened on Old San Antonio Road in South Austin. 

The bus had its red flashing lights and stop sign on, and other cars were stopped. Marion drove by going 50 mph, according to the arrest affidavit. 

"I cannot stress enough the severity of this incident. A motor vehicle can become a weapon when operated unsafely or without regard to human safety," AISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed said.

The truck is owned by the company Swim Pure, which AISD PD says has been cooperative. 

Swim Pure released the following statement:

"We are aware of the video and share the concern expressed by anyone who views it. This does not represent our company or our many talented employees. We are investigating and will handle it in accordance with our HR guidelines and processes." 

Austin ISD update on driver arrest

The Austin Independent School District provides an update on the arrest of a driver who illegally passed a school bus and narrowly missed hitting a child.

The incident was captured on BusPatrol cameras, which are installed on every bus in the district's fleet.

Most of the cameras are on the left side of the bus because that's where the stop arm is. The truck passed on the right side, but a camera on the right corner was still able to capture it.

BusPatrol notified AISD on Oct. 20 that they had captured the incident.

Marion's arrest affidavit says AISD Police tried to meet with him for an interview, but he canceled. 

The 12-year-old student told police "the tire drove by my foot" and felt he could have died that day. 

"Two or three seconds later, we would have a different conversation," Kris Hafezizadeh, direction of transportation for AISD, said.

Marion was arrested on Nov. 19.

Dig deeper:

This school year, the district has already issued 7,000 school bus passing violations. Keep in mind, the school year is only halfway through. Normally, there are 10,000–12,000 violations per school year.

"This is an endemic. This is something that's truly impacting public safety, not only in Austin, but across the country," Ryan Monell, executive VP of BusPatrol said.

Waymo cars pass AISD buses 20 times, district says

Austin ISD has videos showing Waymo, a self-driving vehicle, illegally passing its school buses 20 times since the first week of classes, August 2025, to now.

If a violation happens, BusPatrol pulls together video, vehicle owner information, time and location, and sends it to AISD Police. AISD decides whether someone gets a ticket.

"When we see something like this, something so outrageous and so intentional, we cannot just go through a normal process of just issuing a citation," Sneed said.

For citations, they say repeat offenders are minimal.

"We have to do everything we can as a community to pair enforcement effectively with education," Monell said.

AISD has also issued 20 citations for Waymos passing school buses.