Family outraged after nonverbal toddler left alone for hours on hot school bus in East New York
EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Moesha Samuel thought her 3-year-old son, Macqurie, was in good hands when she handed him to the school bus driver on Tuesday afternoon.
Instead, and to her horror, the child was left alone for hours in an East New York bus depot under the baking sun.
"Your child is supposed to get to school and get home safely," she told Eyewitness News. "And sorry, my child didn't do that. My child was left alone, unattended, by himself."
Macqurie, who attends a year-round special-needs school, was picked up by the school bus at home around 1 p.m. Tuesday, his family says.
After school, at around 4 p.m., he was dropped at his grandma's house.
"I knew something was wrong. I know my grandchild," said Gwendolyn Simmons.
Simmons says her 3-year-old grandson was dehydrated and sweaty.
That's when the family says they got the call from the bus company saying Macqurie never made it to school. He had been left on the bus for hours.
"If it was me or anybody else, if we left a child in a car in the summer we would have been in jail," said Simmons.
And maybe the worst part of all is that the toddler has autism and is nonverbal.
Moesha Samuel says the school tried to contact her shortly after Macqurie should have gotten dropped at school.
But she was at a doctor's appointment.
"He can't talk, he can't bang on the window," she said. "He can't do all these things to try to get safety, so how can you all leave a child on the bus?"
The bus company, Total Transportation, sent Eyewitness News the following statement:
"We, too, are upset about what happened, and we apologize to the family. We have multiple layers of safety protections in place that are designed to ensure no child is left unattended on a bus, which include technology and training. What happened was unacceptable."
The bus driver is being terminated. But the family says that is not enough.
"I could have been burying my grandson today," said Simmons.
Eyewitness News contacted the child's school, which did not comment beyond saying officials are in contact with the family.
The child's mom says most of the responsibility falls on bus employees to check the bus.
"I'm always hands-on with Macqurie. I always want the best for him," she said.
ALSO READ | Exclusive: 13-year-old girl speaks out after stabbing outside of Barclays Center
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
