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A Mid-South bus driver in DeSoto County, Mississippi, was ferrying elementary school children back home on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. However, she stopped in the middle of the road and wouldn't let the children leave the bus. The bus driver did so because a child on the bus was allegedly using their cell phone inside the bus.
According to the Mississippi Department of Education Transportation Handbook, this is something that isn't allowed. However, also doesn't allow school bus drivers to detain children on the bus. All they are meant to do is report a case of misconduct against the particular student breaking the rule to the school principal. Despite this, the female school bus driver didn't report the student but left the children screaming and crying for help on the bus for nearly 40 minutes.
As soon as the video of this incident went viral on social media, netizens began slamming the DeSoto County bus driver. While some pointed out that the kids didn't deserve such treatment, others said that the driver should have handled the break of the rule differently than she did. Social media users began leaving comments on Facebook where the video was shared by 2WRED News Channel 3.
“I don’t want to trust anyone with my kids these days”: Netizens react furiously to DeSoto County bus driver’s detention of children
A female bus driver from DeSoto County, driving Center Hill Elementary School kids back to their homes suddenly stopped the bus on Wednesday afternoon. The bus was parked for nearly 40 minutes on the side of Braybourne in Olive Branch, with the kids locked inside.
According to Fox 13, she did it because a kid inside the bus was allegedly using their cell phone which was against the rule. As mentioned earlier, this is strictly written in the Mississippi Department of Education Transportation Handbook.
Being detained, the children inside the bus started screaming and crying and sought help from passers-by through the window. Following the incident, enraged parents have now demanded answers from the DeSoto County schools.
As per parent Missy Grubbs’ statement to Fox 13, her kid was also “held hostage” inside the bus. She told the news outlet how her 11-year-old daughter Bella called her from the bus to inform her about her whereabouts.
“My instincts were, ‘Okay, the bus broke down. Maybe they’ve been in a wreck because all I can hear was kids crying',” she told the news channel.
Grubbs stated how she was concerned when she realized her daughter was 40 minutes later than usual getting home. She noted that she began wondering if something bad had happened or if the bus had mechanical problems.
Realizing there was something wrong, Missy Grubbs left her house to check out the bus route. Later, after walking quite a few distance, she found the school bus turned off, with locked doors, and no air conditioning, with children screaming and crying inside.
She also told Fox 13 how other parents and passers-by were trying to communicate with the driver, realizing there was something “fishy” going on. When they tried to communicate with the DeSoto County bus driver, the latter refused to communicate. In fact, she reportedly shrugged off all requests of parents to let their children out.
Since the incident, Missy Grubbs’ Facebook Live video has garnered traction online. Social media users are reacting furiously to it, with most demanding that the DeSoto County driver be held accountable for her actions. They took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to react to @Pizza Pepe's post.
Fortunately, while no kid was hurt in the incident, they were left traumatized. Nearly an hour after being locked inside, the students began crawling out of the bus' windows with the help of the parents who were outside. Some kids even exited through the emergency door at the back.
A parent named Anna Marie Tyler told the media source that all the kids were drenched in sweat as it was 80 degrees outside and they were wearing fleece PJs. The kids had been wearing pajamas as part of celebrating Pajama Day in school for the booster fund. The bus was carrying children aged between 6 and 12 years.
The parents have demanded answers from DeSoto County Schools as to why their children were left to suffer on a hot bus for 40 minutes without communicating the same to them. They have also expressed their dismay at the schools’ delayed response. The parents added that they would be driving their kids to and from school, as they did not feel safe trusting them with another driver.
As per the Mississippi Department of Education Transportation handbook students are prohibited from using cell phones on a school bus. However, the bus drivers are also not allowed to have students leave the bus anywhere between school and home.
As per Action News 5, the DeSoto County Schools said in a statement that the bus driver has been put on administrative leave and the incident is under investigation. They also stated how the lady was a substitute driver for the route and a new driver has been assigned for the rest of the academic year.
