Mother says 3-year-old son who is autistic and non-verbal left on bus for 3 hours
On an 80-degree day, a non-ventilated vehicle can reach more than 120 degrees in just an hour.
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The mother of a 3 year-old autistic and non-verbal toddler is calling for accountability after her son was left on a bus for three hours this week.
"I haven't slept in three days. All I can think about is what could have happened to my son," said Moesha Samuel.
Samuel said she put her son on the bus near the front early Tuesday afternoon, and was notified about three hours later by L&M Bus Corporation her son, Maqurie, never made it to his early intervention program in East New York.
"How can you leave an autistic non-verbal child on the school bus? He can't defend himself, he couldn't scream, he can't talk," Samuel said. "It's like he was just left there."
The high on Tuesday in East New York was 84 degrees.
On an 80-degree day, a non-ventilated vehicle can reach more than 120 degrees in just an hour.
"I could have been burying my grandson," said Gwendolyn Simmons, grandmother.
Maqurie was taken to the hospital to be evaluated and was deemed physically OK. Samuel has since filed a police report.
"We are getting ready to go back to school. This just raises anxiety for parents," said Councilmember Chris Banks, who represents the 42nd District, where the toddler lives. "We gotta understand what happened where was the break down?"
News 12 reached out to Total Transportation Corporation, the parent company of L&M.
It released the following statement:
"At Total Transportation, there is nothing more important than the safety of the students we transport. It is a responsibility we take very seriously. 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 driver was removed from service and is in the process of being terminated."
News 12 also contacted the NYC Department of Education, which released the following statement about the incident:
"The safety and wellbeing of all of our students is our absolute top priority, and this alleged behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Bus driver and attendants are required to check their bus for sleeping children after completing their routes both in the morning and in the afternoon. Both the driver and attendant in this case have been removed from service pending an investigation."
