A school bus driver in Oklahoma found himself in hot water after not letting kids off the bus until they hushed up. News reports tell the story from the third person.
Thomas Young, a 68-year-old driver at Broken Arrow Public Schools, got the boot from the school district due to an incident on October 13. The district spokesperson confirmed this to Fox 23, USA Today, and KJRH-TV.
In a video caught by security cameras, the driver, who goes by Young, seems to give a warning to the middle schoolers. He says, "Shh, everybody quiet down," and adds, "I won't move until I don't hear anyone talking."
For about nine minutes, he holds the bus still while the kids can be heard screaming and asking for help. At one point, Young is seen blocking a student from leaving the bus, and banging sounds can be heard.
According to USA Today, Young said, "You think you can get away with things. I run my bus my way. I don't care what the other bus drivers do. You listen to me."
Students started escaping through emergency exits, and Young drove to a nearby parking lot. More students got off the bus, and the police confronted him.
Tara Thompson, the spokesperson for Broken Arrow Public Schools, told Fox 23 that it was Young's second day on this route, and he was 30 minutes late to pick up the students. She said the incident was totally unexpected.
Thompson mentioned to USA Today, "Students were opening the back of the bus and jumping out while it was moving, which is very unsafe. A lot of things went wrong. The students didn't behave well, and the driver didn't handle the situation well."
Police Capt. Josh McCoy told Fox 23 that Young put the children at risk by continuing to drive while they were jumping off the bus. He said, "Holding the kids against their will, and the fact that those children were jumping from the school bus while he continued to drive eastbound, even at a slow speed, endangered them and put them in a dangerous situation."
All three news outlets have confirmed that Young, who held his position for about a year, has been let go by the district, according to Thompson.
KJRH reported that the charges against Young will be sent to the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office.
As of now, it's not clear if Young has entered a plea or sought an attorney to represent him.
Comments
Post a Comment