School Bus Driver Suspended for Allegedly Texting Behind the Wheel
A student takes video of the New Jersey driver apparently looking at texts on her phone while driving the bus. The driver is suspended without pay.
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — A school bus driver here has been suspended after being accused of texting while driving a school bus with students aboard on Monday.
A middle-school student took cell phone video of the driver looking at what appear to be texts on her phone while driving the bus, according to WABC. The student showed the video to a parent, who posted it in a private Facebook group for parents. The video spurred several calls to David Cittadino, the superintendent of schools at Old Bridge Township Public Schools, who called the director of transportation to have the driver removed from all bus routes, the news source reports. The driver has been suspended without pay.
Cittadino tweeted a statement on Tuesday saying that he is “deeply disturbed by the lack of concern for student safety” by the driver, “an adult who must know better.” He also apologized for the incident and thanked the student for sharing the video. (View the tweet below.)
Shamrock Stage Coach, the school bus company that employs the driver, told WABC that she has had a clean driving record and has worked for the company for four years. The company plans to decide whether to fire the driver next week, and said that it has never suspended or fired a driver for distracted driving, according to CBS New York.
— David Cittadino (@OBSupCittadino) October 3, 2017
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