A bus driver in Iowa was fired after leaving a 6-year-old locked in the bus for nearly two hours, while outside summer temperatures were rising.
A 6-year-old student mistakenly got on the bus at the Boys and Girls Club in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday, July 9. The boy assumed he would be taken home, according to The Associated Press.
The driver, who worked for Durham School Services, however, parked the bus in the lot, got off the bus, and—contrary to district protocols—failed to check for any remaining passengers on the bus.
It wasn’t until nearly two hours later, after several worried phone calls by the boy’s mother, that the boy was found fast asleep on the bus.
Another driver for Durham School Services was sent on administrative leave after accidentally bringing a 9-year-old girl on the autism spectrum to her home instead of to the YWCA daycare as agreed.
The girl wandered away and was found sometime later in a nearby store, sitting on the floor playing with toys. She had to cross two busy streets to get there.
The incidents sparked concern on social media, with some users sharing their own experiences.
“My son was in 2nd grade when bus dropped him off half mile away from home cuz he was asleep n missed his stop,” wrote Heidi Staples on Facebook.
“Happened to my great niece in Huron,” commented Julie Baarts Waldner.
“It happens more than you think,” wrote Paula Wynthein Krogman.
The Waterloo school district and Durham School Services have discussed the issue and are working on measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, the school district said.
5-Year-Old Boy Left on School Bus for 7 Hours
In a similar incident, a 5-year-old Delaware boy was accidentally left on a school bus for seven hours on Jan. 22, prompting the bus company to fire the bus driver.
The kindergartner boarded the bus as usual, but fell asleep and never got off at Linden Hill Elementary School in Wilmington.
The driver steered the bus to the bus parking lot after allegedly ignoring other students who informed her about Ibn Polk, the boy left on the bus. Then, she parked the bus and didn’t check the seats, ignoring a sign that read: “Have you checked your bus for students?”
5-year-old Ibn Polk says he does not want to go back on his school bus after being left alone for seven hours Wednesday. https://t.co/O8IFcOEvHM pic.twitter.com/ApZsyxoj3Z
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) January 24, 2019
Another mistake by the school district included not informing Ibn’s parents when he was marked absent that morning, leading to the boy spending seven hours on the bus.
He was discovered when the bus driver got back on her bus to drive her afternoon route and she heard him cough.
“That made it seem like she didn’t really care,” Abdul Polk, Ibn’s father told WPVI.
“When I picked him up, he was soaking wet. He urinated on himself. He had nothing to eat and said he was crying,” Ivana Polk, the boy’s mother, told Fox 29.
The Red Clay School District later confirmed that the driver was fired.
Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
