EBR school bus driver fired after 9-year-old left on bus Thursday morning
BATON ROUGE - For the second time in less than a month, an East Baton Rouge bus driver has been fired for leaving a child behind on a school bus.
According to the East Baton Rouge School District, the driver was fired after a 9-year-old student at Greenbrier Elementary was apparently left on board at the end of the bus route Thursday.
The boy's mother Betty Champagne tells WBRZ that after the vehicle was left in the parking lot of the Cortana Walmart, her son managed to get off the bus and tried to walk home. A good Samaritan spotted the child and picked him up before contacting authorities.
"I'm happy she's not driving the bus anymore but what about the other bus drivers who basically do the same thing?" said Champagne.
In 2009 Champagne's 3-year-old daughter Damyin McElveen died after she was left in a hot van at a Baton Rouge daycare.
"They supposedly changed the law but it seems like you hear about a child being left on a bus almost every week," said Champagne.
Last month, a similar incident occurred involving another student at an East Baton Rouge Parish school. That student, a 4-year-old, had to be rescued from the hot bus by a passerby. The driver involved was immediately fired.
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The school system says the driver in Friday's incident has also been terminated. Additionally, a school spokesperson says drivers are undergoing additional training this week, with more in-service training planned for next week.