Breaking News: SM East students and staff experience car wrecks due to snowy conditions

Students were released early this afternoon in a staggered dismissal, starting at 1:30 p.m.. Prairie Village received upwards of four inches of snow today, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service (NWS). 

Chief SMSD Communications Officer David Smith explains that the decision not to switch to a plan B day — a snow day —was made under the inaccurate predictions of the NWS and early circumstances. 

“We were out at about 4:30 a.m. checking road conditions,” Smith said. “Both conditions of the road when we were out, and the forecast [of] when the snow would come and how much snow we would get were different [from] what we experienced later on in the morning.”

Senior Rachel Davis saw five separate accidents on her 15-minute drive to the Center of Academic Achievement this morning. There was a quarter-inch of fresh snow on the ground covering a sheet of slick ice. 

“I was on 75th and Roe, I was sitting at the red light and it turned green," Davis said.”The tires were moving but my car wasn’t. “I literally just sat there at the intersection for like three minutes crying. I was freaking out.”

If a bystander didn’t get out of his car to push Davis’ car, she would’ve been stuck “indefinitely,” according to Davis. 

Marketing teacher Mercedes Rasmussen experienced a drivers’-side-impact at 75th St. and Metcalf, likely totaling her Jeep. 

Preston Hooker | The Harbinger Online

“There’s no reason [for the district] not to gear on the side of safety,” Rasmussen said. “Especially when you have thousands of kids in a district that are driving and teachers coming from all over the KCMO area to come to work.”

SM East students had a staggered early release at 1:30 p.m. with no after-school activities, according to the SMSD website. 

SM East Principal Jason Peres sent out an email alerting parents of the change after restricting seniors from leaving the campus for lunch.

“We understand the weather creates inconveniences for many,” the email read. “Student safety is our priority, and a staggered release helps us with that endeavor.”

Additionally, the district released an email explaining the decision to release the students early, emphasizing the need for buses to have more time to navigate side streets for student safety. 

There have also been reports of multiple school bus crashes at Indian Hills Middle School, according to seventh grader Griffin Jones. 

“We were going to one of our last stops, and we were turning onto a street where a few cars had slid out,” Jones said. “We started to slide out, and then we, like, tapped against another car, and we were just stuck in this big [pile] of cars.”

Updates to follow on smeharbinger.net.

2 responses to “Breaking News: SM East students and staff experience car wrecks due to snowy conditions”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Bok moja draga obitelji, ja sam KLAUDIA GRANATER, majka sam troje prekrasne djece, imala sam sjajan život i dobro plaćen posao, a kao što svi znate, ništa dobro ne traje vječno. Bila sam žrtva propalog braka koji mi je zamalo oduzeo život i potrošila sam svu svoju životnu ušteđevinu boreći se za skrbništvo nad svojom prekrasnom djecom jer su oni jedina obitelj koja mi je ostala na ovom svijetu. Bila sam na rubu da odustanem od samog života nakon što sam potrošila sve za što sam se trudila u životu samo da bih dobila skrbništvo nad svojom djecom, pa sam počela tražiti zajmodavce online. Pokušala sam s više zajmodavaca, ali svi su se činili previše dobrima da bi bili istiniti, i nažalost jesu, i ništa ne boli više od takve vrste razočaranja..
    Davat će prazna obećanja i nestati.
    Bio sam prevaren i beznadan, vjerujte mi, to je bilo pakleno iskustvo, potpuno sam odustao od svega, uključujući i svoju djecu, ali mi je pomogao prijatelj koji me upoznao s DOMINION LOAN CENTEROM, međunarodnim zajmodavcem koji mi je zapravo isporučio upravo ono što sam želio uz brz odgovor.
    Od početka su bili transparentni u vezi uvjeta, kamatnih stopa i planova otplate koji su najbolji. Nema skrivenih troškova ili nepredviđenih izdataka... Tvrtka će vas tražiti samo osiguranje kojeg sam se bojao, ali zbog dobrih vijesti koje sam čuo o njima, pokušao sam i iznenađujuće su mi dali zajam 5 sati nakon što sam pokrio policu osiguranja i to je jedini trošak koji sam imao prije nego što sam dobio zajam.
    Proces je bio gladak i brzo sam dobio/la zajam. Zahvaljujući našem nebeskom Ocu i DOMINION LOAN CENTER-u, moja su djeca sa mnom i osjećam određenu vrstu mira jer se postupno oporavljam. Uzeo/la sam različite vrste zajmova od ove tvrtke {osobni zajam, poslovni zajam, zajam za automobil itd.} i također sam preuzeo/la na sebe da ljudima kažem o dobroti ove tvrtke jer ne želim da itko doživi ono što sam ja prošao/la u rukama lažnog zajmodavca, posebno samohranih majki poput mene. Vjerujte mi kad kažem da je njihova korisnička služba bila susretljiva i vrlo korisna kad god sam imao/la pitanja.
    Ako se mučite pronaći legitimnog zajmodavca kao što sam se ja mučio/la, toplo bih vam preporučio/la da isprobate DOMINION LOAN CENTER i sljedeće svjedočanstvo koje ćemo čitati bit će vaše.
    Preokrenuli su moju financijsku situaciju 🙏hvala Gospodinu..
    Kontakt podaci E-pošta: {dominionloancenter@gmail.com}
    image.png
    +1 (785) 684-2232

  2. AI Tools says:

    Great article! As a tournament player, strategic thinking is key-just like finding the right tools. AI Tool helps cut through the noise with curated, optimized solutions for any need.

Leave a Reply

Author Spotlight

Preston Hooker

Preston Hooker
Senior Preston Hooker has participated in Football, Track, Policy Debate and more throughout his four years at Shawnee Mission East. The one thing he’s stuck with is Harbinger. Preston is entering his third and final year on staff as a Video Editor, Advertisement Manager, Copy Editor, Staff Writer and Staff Artist. With a full plate in front of him, Preston is excited to finish strong through his high school career, with additional AP and IB courses, to propel him into a hopeless career in film. »

Our Latest Issue