The director of the Central Brooklyn Ascend Charter School is offering an explanation as to why some students were dropped off late Monday evening.

News 12 was with parents as their second-graders finally made it home hungry and tired, and about two hours late. The parents say they didn't call the school since they figured no one would answer. They reached out to Consolidated Bus Company, which operates the bus involved, and they say it gave them the runaround.

Eventually, an automated call from the school went out, telling parents that the driver was lost and a substitute, and offered an apology.

Michelle Flowers, the school's director, says that once they received enough calls from worried parents, they tried to let as many as possible know that the driver had difficulty with the route. But in the end, she says, busing is out of the school's hands - the Department of Education handles all transportation.

The DOE says it is investigating the incident and will take steps to make sure students get home on time.

News 12 also reached out to Consolidated Bus Company, which says the driver wasn't lost, but was waiting on parents to arrive to pick up their kids, and that's why he was late.