Two Young Children with Special Needs Left Behind on Wake County Buses

After more than an hour’s wait on an empty school bus, a six-year-old with epilepsy and a sensory disorder was finally discovered on Wednesday, Feb. 6, ABC-11 reported Thursday.

J.D. Baynon’s mother told the news station that after finally returning home he suffered a grand mal seizure, probably because of the stress the incident caused, she speculated. She said the little boy boarded his school bus as usual at the end of the day at Salem Elementary in Apex. But, a substitute bus driver who wasn’t familiar with the route didn’t notice the six-year-old after passing the bus stop near his home where his mother was waiting.

He had never gotten off the bus. The Wake County Public Schools Transportation Office and local police helped her find the boy.

A spokesperson for the school district said it trains and certifies its substitute drivers completely, and added that drivers are taught to check the bus for remaining passengers when they reach the end of their route.

The bus driver for the Salem school and another driver in a similar incident driving a student from A.B. Combs Elementary were suspended pending the completion of an investigation. The child on the Combs bus also had special needs.

“We’re investigating the complaints fully and the drivers will not be back on the road until we’ve resolved those complaints,” said Mike Charbonneau, spokesperson for Wake County Schools.

Although J.D.’s  parents don’t want the bus driver to have to leave his job, they do want there to be policies ensuring that drivers know where they are going and require them to check the bus regularly for anyone mistakenly still on board.

Source: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8984433&pt=print

This type of negligence should not occur and can have emotional effects for these special needs students. At Kelly-West, we help families that are harmed by such negligence. To speak with a North Carolina lawyer about a similar incident where negligence caused harm, contact us today.

*Please note: we are not representing the families in this news article. This was originally reported by ABC-11.