No One Has the Wheel: AS 9 yr old left on schoolbus
9-year-old Lucas Perkins of Jonesboro (IN) was left on a schoolbus by the bus driver on Thursday, November 16th, and had to walk home three-quarters of a mile across a busy highway in the rain, cold and dark. According to today’s Chronicle-Tribune.com, Lucas made it home safely, but after 5pm when his mother, Jennifer Perkins returned home from work. Perkins said:
“In his words, the bus didn’t stop at the normal bus stop, so he wasn’t really sure when he was supposed to get off…. … Basically he kept waiting for the next stop, and so on, and when the route was done he saw the bus driver leave, and I don’t know if he thought that she was going to come right back or something, but that didn’t happen.”
According to school Superintendent Mike Powell, the bus driver did not check the bus at the end of her shift, as required by school policy. ‘”She said she had an appointment and was in a hurry and she did not follow protocol,’” Powell is quoted as saying; he noted that the bus driver, who has been suspended for five days without pay, is “distraught.”
I suspect that both Lucas and Jennifer Perkins were feeling at least that on Thursday afternoon.
4 opinions for No One Has the Wheel: AS 9 yr old left on schoolbus
Diane Dennis
Nov 18, 2006 at 6:00 pm
This unfortunately is not surprising. An organization is only as good as their worst employee and employees that don’t do their jobs have infiltrated just about every industry, including industries that work with our children.
It’s amazing that Lucas made it home safely and kudos to him. I often worry what would happen to my 12 year old Asperger’s Syndrome son in such a situation as I truly believe he wouldn’t be able to find his way home. It’s heartening to hear that this 9 year old boy made it successfully. :)
Thank you for the story!
Diane Dennis
http://www.aspergers-and-pdd.com
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 18, 2006 at 9:28 pm
And why does it seem that our kids sometimes, or all too often, end up with those who the least qualified in positions of importance—like driving the schoolbus?
Thanks and I have no idea how my son could have crossed a busy highway.
David N. Andrews MEd (12-2006)
Nov 18, 2006 at 10:55 pm
DD: “An organization is only as good as their worst employee and employees that don’t do their jobs have infiltrated just about every industry, including industries that work with our children.”
Odd thing is, and this kinda relates to something in another post on this blog, but an autistic worker (because of the fact that we really do need to go through protocols in order to know where we are and when we are, as it were) would have been very unlikely to have done something like that. And yet we’re the ones who get short-changed every step of the way in getting into meaningful worklives.
Society seems to like having poeple who won’t work work for them… I see that phenomenon happening a bit too much these days.
:(
mumkeepingsane
Nov 20, 2006 at 11:35 am
Something smells fishy here. The bus driver didn’t notice that he didn’t get off at his home (or normal stop)? My son’s driver knows him very well and I’m pretty sure she would realize if he didn’t get off the bus. When she stops she sometimes even has to call the names of the children if they’re not paying attention. I think something else happened other than just forgetting to check the bus for any children who might still be there although that is a very important thing for a bus driver and I’m pretty sure a driver would be fired if they did that here.
Another question. There was no adult to supervise him when he got home? No babysitter or somebody who would have been looking for him to be arriving at a specific time? Nobody noticed that the bus went past but this child did not get off?
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