Driver, driver's aide fired after 5-year-old Jersey City student with autism was left on school bus for over an hour
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- There was a scary scene for a New Jersey mother and her son Monday after the little boy never made it home from school.
Turns out, he was left on a school bus in Jersey City for more than an hour.
Chinasia McNeill says everything seemed normal that day, until that afternoon when it wasn't.
"It hit 2:45. Kyrie never got home," she said.
Five-year-old Kyrie is in the pre-K-4 program at P.S. 30 in Jersey City. He has autism, and his speech is limited.
School officials told parents the bus arrived late that day, so Kyrie didn't board the afternoon bus until 3:45 p.m., but well after 4 o'clock, his mom says there was still no sign of Kyrie.
School officials called J.R. Transportation, the bus company contracted by Jersey City Public Schools.
"Everybody's saying, 'All the buses are back. All the bus aides and bus drivers are gone for the day.' So I said, 'Well, did you guys check the bus?' and they said, 'No. Let us go check,'" McNeill said.
Around 5 p.m., Kyrie was found in the back of a bus on a lot.
"Shivering, shaking, cold. Just screaming, 'Mommy, Mommy. I want to go home. I want to go home,'" McNeill said.
His mom says she was relieved but angry.
"So instantly, I'm enraged. I started shaking. I started sweating. I'm hyperventilating. I'm panicking,' McNeill said.
The school superintendent told CBS2 it's the driver's responsibility to inspect their bus for sleeping children. The bus driver and driver's aide were both fired.
McNeill said Kyrie is physically OK, but he's still traumatized by the incident.
When the bus showed up outside their house the next day, she says, "He was irate. He started screaming, crying, 'Mommy, I don't want to get on the bus. I don't want to get on the bus.' Like, I had to tell him, 'It's OK. You're not getting on the bus.'"
McNeill is trying to get Kyrie transferred to another school, and she said she's planning to file a lawsuit.
Officials with J.R. Transportation said they have no comment.