RALEIGH, N.C. — A school bus driver who left a bus stop and resumed driving after two elementary school students did not return to the stop is being supported by school officials, WRAL News reports.

Wake County officials said that the bus driver, whose name has not been released, pulled up to a school bus stop in front of an apartment complex, but the two children never boarded the bus, according to the news source. The mother of one of the students, age 7, told WRAL News that her daughter was asked to help the 5-year-old student, who had stepped in dog feces.

The 5-year-old made it to school, but the 7-year-old was found crying and wandering in a neighborhood, according to the news source. Her mother told WRAL News that a stranger brought her daughter to school. The mother is trying to press charges against the bus driver.

Wake County Public School System said in a statement obtained by the news source that it reviewed the incident and determined that the bus driver “followed the proper protocol by waiting for the students to return to the bus,” and that the GPS on the bus indicated that the driver waited over five minutes for the students to return before resuming the route. Officials said that the bus driver notified school officials after arriving at the school, according to WRAL News. Transportation officials told the news source that the bus driver could have called a supervisor from the bus stop, but it was a judgment call that a spokeswoman said the school system supports.

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