Household Searches for Solutions After 7-Yr-Outdated with Autism Was Left Alone in College Van
A family in Pennsylvania is confused and outraged when their 7-year-old son failed to come home from school as planned and later walked down the street alone.
Bonnie Liston says it was the first day of summer school at Brownsville Elementary School for her grandson Jayce. He was supposed to take the school bus home and arrive shortly after 3 p.m., but he never got there.
Apparently the driver of this van picked Jayce up from school as planned, but then drove home without dropping the boy off at his house, presumably forgetting he was there. The family is unsure of what happened in the driver’s house, but Jayce was left alone in the van for an undisclosed time before finally getting out and starting on foot.
“He pushed the button to get out of the van and walked down the street where cars go up and down all day,” says Bonnie.
Surveillance video taped around 4:30 p.m. showed Jayce walking down Narrows Road. Fortunately, one of Bonnie’s friends who live in the area spotted him and took him home in the van to school shortly after 5pm.
“You trust your children with people and you want them to be safe,” says Bonnie. “I know people make mistakes, I really do, but this is a mistake that should never be given a chance or opportunity.”
According to Bonnie, the Brownsville School District has said the driver will no longer work for them. The county also released a statement from Superintendent Dr. Keith Hartbauer.
“The Brownsville School District was made aware of a situation last night involving a problem with student transportation,” it said. “The district and transport company investigated the situation and immediately took appropriate measures. Since this is a personnel matter with our transport company, we have no further opinion. “
Mlaker Transportation, a contractor that provides transportation services to the school district, declined to comment on the situation.
We’re glad Jayce made it home safely. We hope that some lessons have been learned here and that new safety plans will be implemented to keep children like Jayce safe in school and on school transport. It ended well this time, but it could have been so much worse. If we are responsible for children, we must do our best to keep them safe.
