2 children left on North Dakota school bus

FARGO, N.D. — Two students were left unattended on a school bus last Thursday morning after the driver failed to check the vehicle before disembarking, Park Rapids Enterprise reports.

Fargo School District No. 1 Business Manager Broc Lietz told the newspaper that the driver left the bus running in the bus yard at Valley Bus Co. As the driver exited the bus, another driver saw a child looking out a window on the door of the bus and reported that to Valley Bus. That child was taken off the bus and transported to an elementary school. The second child was discovered in a search later on the same bus.

Lietz also said that an electronic child-check reminder system on the bus didn’t engage because the bus was still running. John McLaughlin, general manager of Valley Bus, told Park Rapids Enterprise that the incident was driver error by an experienced driver, and he said that the driver “should have done the walk-through.” McLaughlin also said that he is still considering what disciplinary actions to take with the driver, and the company is going to review the child-check procedures again with all drivers.

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