Bus driver drops girl miles from home: Family feared 7-year-old had been kidnapped
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“It kind of scared us to death,” said one family member, who asked to remain anonymous. “She was supposed to be home at 3 p.m. and when she didn’t get here we got pretty upset. We thought maybe she was kidnapped or something.”
The girl in question, Destiny Turner, is a second-grade student at Irving College Elementary. On the bus ride from the school to her Fairview-area home, the driver of the bus drove past Turner’s stop, dropping her off at the next stop, approximately two-and-a-half miles farther down the highway. The driver was allegedly aware she had missed the girl’s correct stop, but didn’t turn around to return her, opting instead to simply drop her off at the next stop.
Luckily, the family member said, Turner was left with a group of children, one of whom she was friends with. She later was able to call home, before being returned by neighbors.
“The driver made a mistake and we apologized to the family,” said Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale. “We transport 3,000 kids to school and back every day. We try to make sure kids get off at the right place, but it can be confusing at times.”
It is the school system’s policy a child is not to be let off at a bus stop that is not his or her own without the child’s parents calling the child’s school or sending a note to that effect with the child.
Hale would not elaborate on what action was taken against the bus driver other than to say a report was filed and that system transportation director Melissa Orrick had “taken care of it.” Attempts to reach Orrick for additional comment yesterday were not successful.