School Bus Driver, Aide Fired After Dropping Autistic Student at Wrong Stop

PATERSON, N.J. — A school bus driver and an aide here have been fired for dropping off a student with autism at the wrong stop last week, Paterson Times reports.

A substitute driver and a new aide, who worked for Jersey Kids Transportation, dropped off the 11-year-old girl, who is nonverbal, at a home located nearly 3 miles from her own home, according to the newspaper. Maria Alago, the girl’s mother, later learned that the aide took the child to the door of the home, and an elderly man opened the door and she went inside. The man’s son came home later, saw the school logo on the girl’s backpack, and contacted the school.  

When her daughter was not brought home at 3:45 p.m. as usual, Alago assumed that the bus was running late. Soon after, she received a call from the school principal, who told her that her daughter was mistakenly dropped off at a different location, according to Paterson Times. She was reportedly told to drive to the location to pick up her daughter or call the bus company. She then called the school district’s transportation department, which contacted the bus driver. Meanwhile, Alago got a friend to pick up her daughter and bring her home.

A spokeswoman for the school district told the newspaper that the district’s transportation department has apologized to the mother and assured her that the driver and the aide have been fired for the incident.

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