Westford Superintendent's Grandson Left On School Bus
WESTFORD (CBS) - A school bus driver in Westford has been fired for not following standard operating procedures when the school superintendent's own grandson was left on the bus.
School Superintendent Everett Olsen got a concerned call Friday afternoon from his son wondering where 5-year-old Tyler's school bus could be. The bus was 45 minutes late.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports.
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"I called out to his bus and was informed that he missed the bus stop. The driver actually took him back to the bus lot, not knowing at the time that he was on the vehicle," said Olsen. "Situations like that just simply can't happen. It's an important message to all school bus drivers in Westford and the state of Massachusetts everywhere that you've got to be overly cautious."
The boy was never left alone on the bus, but the bus driver was supposed to check each seat at the end of each run, before going back to the bus lot.
"Because kindergarten children tend to be small, they can't be seen over the tall seat backs. Obviously, (the driver) did not follow that procedure," said Olsen.
Olsen said his grandson was not hurt, but the boy knew he missed his stop.
"I just told him that make sure if anything like that ever happened, just start yelling to the bus driver that the driver missed the stop," said Olsen.
After a meeting with the school bus company, the driver was dismissed.
