Bus drivers left 5-year-old at wrong stop three times, father says

BROCKTON, Mass. — A father is frustrated after he says his 5-year-old daughter was left alone on a busy road several times by her bus driver.

Brockton Public Schools are investigating after the father says a substitute bus driver missed his daughter’s stop.

Mike Smith waits outside of his Brockton home every day for his 5-year-old daughter's bus. But recently, that bus has been anything but reliable.

“They flew right past,” said Smith. “My daughter was behind the bus driver and I could hear her say, ‘this is my bus stop.’”

Smith says a substitute bus driver has missed his kindergartner's stop three times in the past two weeks, and has driven up the road and dropped her in an unsafe place on his street where the cars zip by at a high speed. There are also no crosswalks there.

“She almost got hit by a car. She tried crossing the street, she looked both ways. One car slammed on their brakes, one didn't, they jumped the curb and that's when my heart dropped,” Smith explained.

He said each driver has been different and none of them appear to know the routes.
When Smith confronted a substitute driver Thursday, it didn't go well.

“He didn't want to hear it, he completely blew me off and told me to f*** off,” Mike said.

Frustrated with the driver’s response, Smith took his concerns to the school district and the bus company, who are both now investigating.

MORE: School apologizes for image of black girl in 17th century toddler leash

A spokesperson told Boston 25 News the driver has now been taken off the bus route.

“This bus driver should be taken off anything that has to do with kids in general, because the attitude I got from him was completely uncalled for,” Smith said.

But he worries the problem is bigger than just his stop.

“If they can do it three times within two weeks for one child, how often is this happening to kids in the city?” he said.

Smith said the bus company and the school district need to examine their protocol so that no one is left behind or in harm’s way.

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