4-Year-Old Student Left Behind on School Bus

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. — A 4-year-old student here was found near a grocery store after being left behind on a school bus on Monday.

The girl reportedly fell asleep on the bus and did not get off at the stop for her school, and went unnoticed by the driver, according to WAFB. The girl was discovered about four hours after she was supposed to be at school, The Advocate reports.

Winn-Dixie store managers told WAFB that they reviewed security camera video footage, which showed the girl getting off the bus and walking into the store. The girl was safely returned to her family, East Baton Rouge Parish School System officials told the news source.

District officials added that the bus in question was apparently parked at the grocery store on Monday, but it is unclear if the driver parked the bus there every day. The district is working to install GPS systems on the buses. The girl’s parents told WAFB that they were not notified that their daughter wasn’t at school.

The school district fired the driver, and told WAFB that it plans to ensure the schools’ front offices are notified no later than 9 a.m. if a student has not shown up to class. Taylor Gast, a spokeswoman with the school system, told The Advocate that in response to the incident, all drivers for the school system will be reminded that state law requires them to check the bus for students at the end of every route.