![\"parikh.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.courant.com\/capitol_watch\/parikh.jpg\")
<\/span>HARTFORD — When family and friends of Vikas Parikh walked into a legislative office building hearing room Wednesday to voice their support for a bill that would require seat belts on school buses, the room fell silent.<\/p>\nParikh, a student at both Rocky Hill High School and the Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics and Science in Hartford, died Jan. 9 as a result of a school bus crash on I-84. <\/p>\n
The crash renewed debate over whether seat belts should be installed on public school buses. <\/p>\n
“We fully believe our son would have been with us today had there been seat belts,” said Pratik Parikh, Vikas’ father.<\/p>\n
Vikas’ mother, Dolly Parikh, added that what happened to her son could happen to anyone’s son or daughter. Following her statement, she turned to the friends and family standing behind her and started to cry. <\/p>\n
Pictures: Seat Belt Hearing At The Capitol <\/a><\/p>\n Vikas Parikh was the only person who died in the January crash, but several other students and a teacher were injured.<\/p>\n According to Keye Frank, a student on the bus that crashed, two injured students have still not returned to the classroom and the teacher who was injured is not expected to return to work for a few more months. <\/p>\n Wednesday, the Parikh family, along with others involved in the crash, urged state lawmakers to be proactive and to find a way to make school buses safer. They tried to squash arguements made by those who oppose putting seat belts on buses. <\/p>\n Those who oppose seat belts on school buses say the costs associated with installing the seat belts is too high, and they say seat belts are not needed because of compartmentalization. Compartmentalization is when cushy seats are placed close together to absorb impact. <\/p>\n “Although the accident we were in was incredibly rare, it still happened,” Frank reminded lawmakers. <\/p>\n “We are the future,” said Sameer Laul, another student riding the bus that crashed. “Without protection, what can we do?”<\/p>\n