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An Arizona school bus driver is under investigation for allegedly locking rowdy kids on board.
KPHO in Phoenix reports the driver didn’t allow students to leave a bus from Dysart Elementary School in nearby El Mirage because the kids were misbehaving.
The bus driver has voluntary resigned, though he remains under investigation from the school district, KPHO reports.
A surveillance video shows the driver had initially let kids off the bus, but after that, he began talking to the remaining students about their bad behavior. Kids were not permitted to leave the bus.
“The longer we stay here, the more your parents are going to be upset,” the driver was heard saying, according to KPHO. “But not at me, they’re going to be getting upset with you, because it’s your fault you’re not getting off the bus.”
Parents waiting outside began pounding on the door and trying to pry it open, according to KPHO. CBS News reported the driver saying at this point: “See, your parents are getting upset. You break that door; you’re going to be buying a new one. Your kid will get off the bus when I am done with ’em.”
The driver then drove off with the students, KPHO reported, and parents began calling 911. One parent, according to CBS News, said: “He’s actually driving away with all our kids. He’s got all our kids on the bus.”
The driver brought the bus back to Dysart Elementary where they were released, CBS News reported.
Parents of the students were unsurprisingly upset, including the mother of a 7-year-old girl.
“Her screaming, and all the other little girls and boys screaming, it’s very unreal that the bus driver would actually keep them on the bus without air conditioning,” the mom told Fox10Phoenix.com.
Another parent told CBS News: “I don’t know if he went crazy, was going to crash into something because the way he took off he was speeding.”
The district’s assistant superintendent told KPHO that this was not the driver’s usual route, but was filling in when the incident occured.
“We certainly would like to see our drivers let students off the bus in a reasonable amount of time,” said Jim Dean, the assistant superintendent. “At the same time, our drivers are responsible for the safety of students both on the road when the route is in route, as well as prior to them getting off the bus safely as well.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
