Mishap on bus kills Indy student

INDIANAPOLIS -- A 16-year-old boy who stuck his head from a school bus window was killed Monday when he hit a tree as the bus traveled about 30 mph, police said.\nRaul Gonzalez, a freshman at Perry Meridian High School, died about 7 a.m. while on a bus headed to the school on the city's south side.\nMarion County sheriff's Lt. Phil Burton said Gonzalez's head hit the trunk of a tree which was growing next to the pavement and leaning into the roadway. The tree had been marked with green paint and on the side facing the road and its base showed old scars.\nA neighbor said the tree had been struck repeatedly over the years and that someone had marked the tree about a week ago for its removal.\nBurton said investigators did not know why Gonzalez stuck his head out the window, but that there was no indication of horseplay among the students. Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.\nNone of the other 20 students on the bus were hurt, according to police.\nThe bus driver told investigators she did not notice anything amiss until she heard students screaming, Burton said. She then stopped the bus and notified authorities.\nKaren Cantou, a spokeswoman for the Perry Township school district, said the driver would be questioned and undergo routine alcohol and other tests.\nShe said the students were transferred to another bus and were being counseled by social workers who were called to the scene.\nCantou said Gonzalez, who was the last student to board the bus, had recently moved with his family to Indianapolis from Texas.\nIt was not immediately clear whether the heavy fog across central Indiana Monday morning played any role in the death.