A Mother Is Warning Parents After Her Daughter Was Accidentally Left on a School Bus
This could have easily gone worse.
With back to school week in full effect, for busy parents almost everywhere, there’s a relief in being able to assume something as simple as riding the bus is safe for your child. Now, one mom’s horrific story about her five-year-old trapped inside of a school bus for three hours is a warning to parents about a hidden danger they may not have considered yet.
“My daughter’s bus driver nearly killed her on the first day of kindergarten so here’s a PSA for all parents of young bus riders. This happened today,” Coley wrote.
Coley’s daughter suffers from a developmental delay that causes weak muscle tone around her knees and ankles. Moreover, the rare syndrome makes it difficult for her to speak loudly and clearly over the other kids. Her daughter didn’t end up getting off of the bus at school, and instead, was locked inside the bus while it was parked inside the 90-degree depot.
Not only was it her daughter’s first day of school, but it seemed like school officials weren’t initially aware of the fact that her daughter was missing.
Coley proceeds to get a call from the school at 11 AM regarding the fact that her daughter was absent. Having put her on the bus that morning, Coley begins to worry. Still, the school seemed certain that there was just a mix-up, and things were fine.
It was at that point that the school didn’t contact Coley for almost an hour.
Bus drivers are supposed to check the seats for children at the end of every route and this one, who was fired by the school, didn’t. Apparently, Coley’s daughter didn’t know when to get off the bus, and there were no other kids in her grade on the bus for her to follow.
Thankfully, Coley’s daughter was ultimately okay, considering this nearly tragic event comes just a few months after a three-year-old in Texas died from being locked inside of a parked school bus alone. Dozens of infants and toddlers die from heat stroke every year because they are locked inside of hot vehicles. Even as the Senate has pushed for mandatory back-seat alarms in cars, there is still no replacement for vigilance.
