Thread by @happycloudbooks

My daughter's bus driver nearly killed her on the first day of kindergarten so here's a PSA for all parents of young bus riders.

This happened today.

{thread/story}

My daughter, who is 5 and slightly developmentally delayed was trapped alone on a bus parked at the bus depot for 3 hours in near 90 degree weather.

The bus driver DID NOT check whatsoever when he pulled in. He just got off. She tried to get his attention but failed. She knows to stay in her seat so that's where she stayed. FOR 3 FUCKING HOURS. ALONE. IN THE SUN.

I'd had an off feeling since I put her on the bus this morning. It's our first regular bus. Will she find the right seat? Be able to get off the bus okay? Will the older kids be nice to her?

I take her school paperwork in at 9. They don't say she's absent. I figure everything is fine. They'd call if something were wrong, right?

I wake my hubby up close to 11. I miss a call from school. The school says she's absent and they want to know if she's okay because I didnt call her in. I freak out.

I PUT HER ON THE BUS AT 7:30 WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S ABSENT?!

They reassure me she's likely in class, several busses were late this morning after attendance was taken. They're going to go check. They'll call me right back.
I expect a call in 5 to 10 minutes.

I. WAIT. ALMOST. 40. MINUTES. And this time it isn't the secretary. It's the superintendent of the bus depot. And he's PISSED. My child. My FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD was left alone on the bus. She appears okay but I need to meet them at school. I bolt. I already had keys in my hand.

I beat them there. I watch my child walk into the school red, dripping wet, and cradling a water bottle. I almost cry. My baby appears okay. She says she has a stomachache but is okay.

She is thoroughly checked over by the nurse while the principal, bus superintendent, and I sit in a conference room discussing just what the actual fuck happened.

The bus drivers are supposed to do a seat check before leaving. He didnt. My daughter didn't know when to get off. No other k-1st graders (kids at her school) on this bus. This should never have happened.

And then he tells me what I hadn't even grasped yet. He had left her there, alone, in the heat, since 8:30. They found her after 11:30. I am devastated and crying on the inside. 3 hours. Alone. In almost 90 degree weather. Locked. On a bus.

Bus driver is fired (obviously). They put steps in place to make sure my kid can ride the bus safely. The nurse tells me that, shockingly, my child is just FINE. I let her stay the rest of the day.

They give her lots of water. The girls who found her had ice water on hand and were dousing towels with it to put on her body. They're offering her food. She tells me she got hungry and is sorry she ate some of her lunch on the bus. I nearly cry. I reassure her it's okay.

I ask her about her day when she gets home and she tells me about the bus. My heart breaks when she tells me that the only time she got scared was when she got cold. She wanted me. She cried for me. I hold her extra tight tonight.

My child should. Not be alive right now. Kids die after an hour in a hot car. My child survived 3 and only got a stomachache. My child should be dead. If I hadn't of packed her 2 drinks in her lunch she WOULD HAVE DIED. Today we hold her close.

If you only retweet one thing, retweet this....

Remind your kids bus drivers to CHECK EVERY SEAT BEFORE LEAVING. PLEASE. My child survived 3 hours but yours might not. Please. Take the extra 2 minutes. Learn from us. We were almost a tragedy. A preventable tragedy. Please remind them.

So tonight I play with my girl. I remind her that if, by some miniscule chance you get left on the bus, to honk that horn until someone comes. And in the morning we figure out a new plan for school.
She's okay. Somehow, she's absolutely fine. Thank you, Lord!