Driver suspended for leaving student dangling from bus doors

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — A school bus driver is on administrative leave after driving off last Friday with a kindergartner's backpack caught in the door, which left the girl dangling as the bus drove 41 feet down the road.

The female bus driver reportedly stopped just past the driveway of 5-year-old Alexis Luvell’s home and opened the doors to let her out, but drove off before ensuring that the girl had fully exited the bus.

"She closed the doors and Alexis' backpack was stuck. The driver just took off. I was screaming 'Stop! Stop!' and she finally did after people were honking," Brenda McCormick, Luvell’s grandmother and guardian, told 11Alive.

Barrow County Schools Superintendent Wanda Creel told the news source that the district is investigating the incident, but said it is clear the bus driver did not follow protocol. When drivers let students off the bus, they are supposed to wait until the students are 12 feet from the bus before leaving for the next stop.

McCormick told 11Alive that she will drive Luvell to and from school until the district’s investigation of the incident is complete and she knows who her next bus driver will be.