Parent ‘seriously injures’ bus driver after child wasn’t picked up for school, cops say
Police are investigating after a school bus driver was assaulted by a parent, authorities in Ohio said.
Police in Dayton were called to a charter school on Dec. 19 for reports of a fight. When they got there, they found the 45-year-old bus driver with visible injuries to her face, police told McClatchy News.
“The victim, who is a school bus driver, was assaulted by a parent of a student who accused the victim of purposefully leaving her child at the bus stop,” a statement from Dayton Police said.
Dayton Public Schools Interim Superintendent David Lawrence told McClatchy News the parent waited until the last student got off the bus, then got on the bus and “brutally” attacked the driver.
“We’ve seen an increase in acts of aggression, as it relates to parents and drivers. We’ve had parents cut off buses and get out cars, we’ve had parents waiting at stops and go physically bam on the doors,” he said. “We’re disappointed that it came to this.”
Lawrence said even though the students were off the bus at the time of the attack, many saw the incident.
Lawrence told WHIO the parent was upset that the driver did not take her child to school. However, he said the bus driver waited at the bus stop for one minute and there were no children, so she closed the door and left.
Police said the parent broke the driver’s nose and orbital bone. The driver had “serious injuries,” Lawrence told WHIO.
Lawrence said the driver is recovering, and there is footage of the attack that has been turned over to police. He said they are in the process of pursuing charges against the parent.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Parent ‘seriously injures’ bus driver after child wasn’t picked up for school, cops say."
