FORT DRUM, N.Y. — A mother who reportedly boarded a school bus to give her daughter her lunch money was later served with a court summons from state police.

Col. Gary Rosenberg, garrison commander at the Army’s Fort Drum, explained last week’s incident in a letter to the community, stressing that it is illegal for family members to board a school bus.

According to Rosenberg, the bus driver asked the mother to wait for her daughter to come back to the front of the bus, but the mother forced her way onto the bus, found her daughter and delivered the lunch money.

“Because it is illegal for a family member to board a school bus, the bus driver protested and insisted the parent leave,” Rosenberg wrote in the letter. “The family member then went back to her child a second time, and finally, agitated and loudly arguing with the bus driver, exited the school bus.”

The incident was reportedly captured by a surveillance camera on the bus.

Rosenberg said that the mother “has now been served with a summons to answer for her actions in a court of law by the New York State Police.”

Some parents who said they were at the scene criticized the bus driver’s handling of the incident and said they were unaware that it is against the law to board a school bus.

According to the Watertown Daily Times, parent Shannon M. Williams was at the bus stop and alleged that the bus driver made “attempts to shut the door while the parent was in it.” Williams also claimed that the video footage would show “the bus driver grabbing the parent.”

About the author
Thomas McMahon

Thomas McMahon

Executive Editor

Thomas had covered the pupil transportation industry with School Bus Fleet since 2002. When he's not writing articles about yellow buses, he enjoys running long distances and making a joyful noise with his guitar.

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