BIRDSBORO, Pa. — A boy in Amity Township, Pennsylvania, spent his first day of kindergarten outside of the classroom.
KYW reported that 5-year-old Prince Oquendo was on a school bus for four and a half hours when the bus driver left him in 85-degree temperatures.
His mother, Michelle Oquendo, said Prince was picked up by the school bus for a half-day at Monocacy Elementary Center.
"When the door shut, he started to hit the doors, and yell for the guy to pay attention to him," Oquendo told WPVI. "And the guy just kept on walking. He started crying, and basically spent his time crying on the bus."
Oquendo said she called the school when her son was not dropped back off at home, and New Rhoads Transportation staff checked the bus, which was in the company's lot, and found Prince.
"It was traumatizing to me," she said. "He was hot, sweaty. He didn’t even know who I was at first."
School District Superintendent for the Daniel Boone area James Harris told KYW the transportation company was contacted and the bus driver was terminated immediately.
Harris said the district was partially at fault for not notifying Oquendo when Prince was marked absent.
“It just goes to show how important our procedures are and transportations ... in the safety of our kids.” Harris said. “We don’t need to be doing anything new. We just need to do what we are supposed to be doing.”
Oquendo has her own solution to the problem. "I’m going to be driving him back and forth to school," she said. "I don’t want him on any buses at all."
Cox Media Group
