A kindergartener in Kansas was left on a school bus for nearly six hours when a driver found him trapped inside, according to reports.
The 5-year-old was sleeping in the back seat on the way to school, but the driver didn't check to make sure the row was empty before returning home, parking the bus in the driveway and locking it.
“How could this happen?” the boy's grandmother, Reta Maitre, was furious. he told 12News.
“You count three people getting off the bus. You count three people getting on the bus. It's not rocket science.”
According to Maitre, the boy boarded the bus on the morning of October 28 and fell asleep on the way.
The Hoxie School District driver completed the route to the destination and drove home. The boy woke up hours later, alone and trapped in a parked school bus.
“I cried. I just kept wondering what was going on in his little mind,” Maitre raged.
It took six hours for the driver to realize the kindergartener was stuck on the bus.
Fortunately, the weather was mild that day, so Maitre's grandson was spared the risk of heat stroke or hypothermia.
She expressed disbelief that the driver failed to inspect the bus at the end of his shift, which she said should be a required part of the job.
“It takes less than 10 seconds to go to the back of the bus and back to the front,” she said.
Minutes from a recent district school board meeting confirmed that the driver's employment was terminated by the Hoxie School District on the day of the incident.
“On October 28, it was determined that a student had been left unattended on a school bus during part of the school day,” the school district told 12News in a statement.
“Fortunately the student was not injured and we will continue to support the family.”
