Bus Driver Fired, Left Child in Freezing School Bus for 6 Hours

A school bus driver in New Jersey has been fired after he left a 3-year-old child unattended in the back of a bus for six hours on Tuesday, January 28th. The son of Mishiloh Akturk had gotten onto the bus for a ride to Franklin Park School at 8 yesterday morning, but never got off until the bus driver returned to the bus to drive students home. The young boy spent six hours in a freezing bus.

"I never received a call from the school saying that he didn't show up that day," Akturk told CentralJersey.com. "I got a call at about 2 p.m. saying he sat on the bus all day without heat or food or anything. I guess he fell asleep and was sitting in the back."

The bus had a "child reminder system" which sets off an alarm at the back of the bus when a driver turns off the engine. The driver must walk through the bus to turn the alarm off by opening and closing the back door, but instead the driver simply walked around the bus and closed the door from the outside.

"Thank God I bundled him with layers and his hat and gloves," Akturk said. "He sat on that bus for five-plus hours. He could have died. He could have frozen to death. The EMT was there and checked him out. He seems fine. He's was happy and eating his lunch when I got there. Everything seems OK right now. He's a real trooper. [sic] "

The driver was fired immediately after the discovery of the boy.

CBS News