Students at the Achievement First Brownsville charter school were trapped on a school bus for hours Tuesday while the driver was driving around in circles, police say.

Children who were supposed to be home at around 4:20 p.m. were reunited with their families five hours later. Parents say their kids were stranded inside the bus without food, water or access to a lavatory.

Police arrested the 53-year-old driver who, according to students, remained silent throughout the entire ride. One mother says her 5-year-old son had repeatedly approached the driver and told him where he needed to be dropped off and how to get there, but the man refused to answer. The driver also did not respond to the authorities who tried to reach him.

Now, outraged parents demand to know why their children?s safety was put in jeopardy. Carla Ballard, a grandmother of a student who was trapped, says the fact there was no matron aboard the bus may have played a part in the incident.

A spokesperson for the company that owns the school bus was not immediately available for comment.