School bus dumps child to walk alone in New York City

Has anyone ever had a truly delightful experience on a public school bus? Those things are riddled with diseases-- influenza pretty much drips off of the head rests, and the lack of seatbelts has turned all these busses into a death trap. How many times did you fall into the isle and knock your head on the sticky floor below?

The bus drivers are always questionable. I never remember my bus driver giving me "high fives" or asking me if I learned anything new today in Language Arts. They were always such creepers. Everytime I stepped off the steps of the school bus, I was thankful that I lived to see another day, and incredibly unthankful that I had to ride the school bus again the next day.

What happened to that little boy is absolutely horrible, don't get me wrong. However, I am not at all surprised. Public schools are a bureaucratic mess, and I highly doubt that the New York City Public School System is going to make any real changes in the near future. The American Public School system is lackluster at best, and no matter what public statement the school system will release in regards to this story, kids will continue to ride these busses and get dropped off at the wrong stops everyday.

What ever happened to the concept of community where we all look out for others? This story is frightening in so many ways. If we are not our brother/sister's keepers then who is?

It reminds me of what happened this summer in our city. A 2 year old wandered out of her house at 5 am. She was seen walking in the street at 5:10 am but the person who saw her did not take her out of the street. Instead she went to a county building a block or so away and reported the child in the street. When the county worker found the child she was dead. Hit and run driver never found. The grandmother had discovered she was gone and was out searching and had walked the opposite way of the child.

What might the outcome had been if the driver of the first car who saw her and the pedestrian one or both had stopped to help her?

Sure, folks worry about being accused of crimes yet isn't it a crime to leave an innocent child to fend for themselves?

...How could the the school NOT KNOW who the school bus driver was?! Don't they keep a log of some kind? They have unique numbers on them! Someone on that bus had to of seen that child at some during the drive. The investigation shouldn't take long and if it does then there's a huge problem.

I think the kid just wanted to see the sights and find out what being on a bus is like. That's the only logical reason he'd sit on that bus for the entire ride, I guess.

Thank god that woman helped him.

They don't know who the driver is?
WTF?!

even if the kid lives across the street, i would never let my 5 year old walk home. not alone. not in new york, not in california, not even in the nicest safest neighborhood. its not the kids fault that he was on the bus. if i was 5 and someone put me on a bus instead of going home id be like hell yeah, road trip!
teachers, bus drivers, parents all need to watch their kids more carefully.
the adults are to blame.

Why wasn't that little boy's mom wondering why it was taking him so long to get home? You'd think she'd be waiting for him when school was letting out, and maybe she'd have seen him get on the bus. Then she'd have a chance to go get him and tell him that he shouldn't be getting on the bus in the first place.

ha haha ha ha ah!!!!!!!
poor bus driver!!!

"He lives across the street from the school in the Bronx."

Why the hell was he even on the bus?

I sincerely hope that that bus driver is fired. I have a five year old, and if someone just dumped him off far away from home in ANY city i would take action against the school. A " sorry" is not nearly enough. In response to Divine_prospect76, maybe the mother was working. Not every parent has the luxury of picking their children up from school.

WOW... I would think people now a days would have more of a heart for little children. Why wasn't the mother walking her child to class in the first place.

this seems to happen way too often. maybe the bus companies need to start screening the people they hire.

Who put him on that bus holds most of the responsibility here.

The fact that he went on the bus is weird. I'm surprised that he didn't cry while on the bus, knowing he was going AWAY from his home the entire time.

I thought that was the case that there has to be someone waiting for them there....I would like to know what the school bus driver was thinking. It does even make sense to let a first grader off and I don't think anyone is that stupid to do so without rationalizing it in their head and I want to know how one does that.

And the child is safe. That's great news.

Let's not get mad over what didn't happen and could have unless you're wanting it to happen.

Better to understand why it happened instead of getting mad that it did happen. Because getting mad at this situation would solve nothing.

Started as the teacher aide who put the kid on the bus. If they have a list of names, then how did he get on the bus. The driver should have returned the kid back to the school or call the office on the cellphone which everyone basically has and tell them the situation. Keep hearing stories of this type each year.

"he may have acted inappropriately"

I'd say so.