York County woman pleads guilty to vehicular homicide of 11th grade Northeastern student

A York County woman pleaded guilty this week to causing the death of Arianna Landis, an 11th grade Northeastern High School student who was struck while attempting to board a school bus on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022.

Marie McGahan, 26, of Red Lion pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle, meeting/overtaking a school bus, careless driving, unintentional death guilty plea, careless driving guilty plea, and failure to comply with license restrictions.

The crash happened just after 7 a.m. Oct. 26 in the 500 block of York Haven Road in Newberry Township. It was still dark outside at the time.

At the time, police said a passenger vehicle traveling in the opposite direction of the bus struck the student. Arianna, who was seriously injured, was taken to York Hospital, police said at the time. She later was transferred to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Kyle King, on behalf of the District Attorney's office, could not comment at this time, as the matter is currently pending sentencing.

McGahan's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29, 2024, at 10 a.m. before York County Court of Common Pleas Judge Amber Kraft.

More:Family sues after death of Northeastern High School student while boarding bus last year

Victim's family suing defendant and several others

The family of Arianna Landis have filed a lawsuit against the school district, F & S Transportation, the substitute bus driver Pamela Billet and McGahan.

According to the lawsuit, the bus stopped farther north than it normally stops to pick up Landis, farther from her driveway. As Arianna began to board the bus from the opposite side of York Haven Road, motorist Maire McGahan failed to stop for the bus lights and stop sign, the suit alleges.

McGahan did not see Arianna in time to avoid hitting her, and her body was thrown 15 feet into a yard where she was later discovered by her mother, Nicole Anderson.

According to the lawsuit, the decision by both the bus company and the school district to require students to cross York Haven Road in the dark to board their school bus were motivated by profit, budgetary concerns, and convenience, as both defendants knew the safety risks involved.

More:Northeastern student who was struck while boarding a school bus has died: police

"The whole case is about keeping individuals held accountable. If you don't hold people accountable, there usually is no change," said the family's attorney, Adam Wolfe.

He said the change they are hoping for is to bring awareness for the need of safer bus routes and bus stops for students across the country. Anderson, Arianna's mother, who was the first to find her daughter's body at the scene, was fighting a battle with cancer at the time.

Hearing the sound of her daughter being struck while boarding the bus, Anderson suffered physical, emotional and psychological pain, the lawsuit read. She died in May 2023, less than six months after her daughter.