Parents at a Colorado school district are demanding answers after they claim a bus driver employed by the district left 40 kids at the wrong stop.
According to local media outlets 9 News and KMGH-TV, parents claim their children were dropped off at the wrong location by a substitute bus driver, who is now fired, earlier this week.
The incident, which occurred on Monday, reportedly involved students from Clear Sky Elementary School located in Castle Rock, which is about 30 miles from Denver.
A Colorado school district is investigating after a bus driver dropped students off at the wrong stop, according to reports. https://t.co/gKNdZo7sQD
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One 10-year-old student and her mother spoke to both outlets, saying that the bus driver left the school parking lot later than usual that afternoon.
“He wouldn’t let us leave the school until we stopped talking, ” the student told the local outlet. “He finally left, and he was skipping all the kids’ stops, and when I say all the kids, I mean all the kids. And we felt like when he was driving and missing our stops, like we were getting kidnapped.”
According to multiple report, the 10-year-old claimed that the driver ordered dozens of students to get off the bus at a random location two miles from the school, leaving them frightened, flustered, and in the cold weather without their parents.
9 News and KMGH-TV reported that the student’s mother said a stranger helped her children contact her.
In the statement obtained by USA TODAY, Chief Operations Officer Rich Cosgrove said that the district has launched an internal investigation and is partnering with the Castle Rock Police Department.
Cosgrove also apologized and provided details on what happened that afternoon.
“Your child’s route consists of 12 stops. On the third stop on Monday afternoon, the bus stopped just short of the usual location, leading to some confusion. At that time, the remaining 40 students on the bus all exited, with many getting off at the wrong bus stop,” the statement said. “Regrettably, the driver did not follow protocol when this happened. The driver should have immediately notified DCSD transportation dispatch.”
Cosgrove said that the substitute driver no longer works for the school district.
The regular driver, who was out, will return to the route according to the report.