4-year-old child left alone on 100-degree school bus in Kewaskum, sheriff's office investigating
KEWASKUM, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A 4-year-old child was found alone inside a school bus in the dangerous heat. The child is okay, but investigators say the child may have fallen asleep and the bus driver didn’t check the bus before leaving for the day.
“Have you guys got a call of a missing four-year-old on a bus yet?” Police officers are heard in 911 calls.
It happened Wednesday night in Kewaskum, after the child’s mom called police, saying her child never made it home.
“It was called in to the PD that a juvenile would not return home,” officers are heard saying.
When police arrived to the Johnson School Bus Service lot, an officer noticed emergency flashers on in a school bus. The child was inside and the temperature inside the bus was 100 degrees.
“The student did not exit the bus and the bus driver apparently did not know or remember that the student was riding the bus at the time,” said Kenn Jones, the regional vice president of Johnson School Bus Service.
An electronic system designed to remind drivers to walk to the back of the bus and check for children was malfunctioning.
Replacement parts had been ordered, but investigators say the driver, who is 69 years old and has 5 years of experience, still did not manually check the bus.
“Checking for students, checking for sleeping students, ensuring that the child Checkmate is engaged,” said Jones.
Johnson School Bus Service says the driver has been disciplined.
“The company has taken approval action against the driver. At this time I am not at liberty to give any details to any personal issues,” said Jones.
In a letter sent to parents, the Kewaskum School District says Johnson is “retraining its staff on student safety protocols and end-of-route bus inspection procedures.”
“We take this incident very seriously. We have taken steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Jones.
The driver was not arrested, but charges of child neglect have been referred to the Washington County District Attorney’s office because of the extreme heat, and the known alarm issue.