‘Anybody could’ve got him!’: The heartbreaking moment five-year-old Tennessee boy cries for help after being left ALONE on special transit bus
- Uneisha Bradford’s son had been headed to aftercare on a Special Transit Services bus in Chattanooga when he fell asleep on the bus on Friday
- The driver of the bus was supposed to do a walk-through of the bus after the children disembarked but failed to do so
- Bradford’s son woke up soon after the driver walked away from the bus and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to exit the bus
- Eventually he was able to and wandered in the parking lot until he was found by strangers
- ‘What if those people weren’t out there?’ the boy’s distraught mother asked. ‘Anybody could’ve got him’
- Both the driver and an employee with the Chambliss Center for Children have been suspended
A young boy’s family is demanding answers after the five-year-old was left unattended on an empty special transit bus in Tennessee on Friday.
Uneisha Bradford’s son had been headed to aftercare on a Special Transit Services bus in Chattanooga when he fell asleep on the bus.
Footage from inside the vehicle shows children exiting the bus as it arrives at the Chambliss Center for Children.
In the clip, the young child appears to be sleep in the row just behind the bus driver.
Uneisha Bradford’s son had been headed to aftercare on a Special Transit Services bus in Chattanooga when he fell asleep on the bus on Friday. He was left alone on the bus as a result
The driver of the bus was supposed to do a walk-through of the bus after the children disembarked but failed to do so, center director Philip A. Acord explained to WTVC-TV.
‘Our teachers are supposed to walk through… She looked under the seat and said she looked for legs and book bags and didn’t see anything,’ Acord added.
‘When the driver gets back to the STS [Special Transit Services lot] and she parks her bus, she’s supposed to get up and go back again.’
Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency Executive Director Nancy Sutherland, explained to News Channel 9 that their driver is suppose to do a ‘sweep’ of the bus. SETHRA operates the bus company.
Bradford’s son woke up soon after the driver walked away from the bus and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to exit the bus
Eventually he was able to and wandered in the parking lot until he was found by strangers
She added: ‘It would entail that driver getting off the bus, getting back on the bus, walking down the walk-way and making sure there’s nothing left.’
The bus has a capacity of eight to 10 children but Bradford’s son was the only one who was left on the bus.
Bradford’s son woke up soon after the driver walked away from the bus.
For approximately 10 minutes, the little boy could be seen crying as he tried to figure out how to open the door. Eventually he is able to get the door open and wanders off to the parking lot until he is helped by a stranger.
‘What if those people weren’t out there?’ the boy’s distraught mother asked. ‘Anybody could’ve got him.’
‘What if those people weren’t out there?’ the boy’s distraught mother asked. ‘Anybody could’ve got him’
Both the driver and an employee with the Chambliss Center for Children have been suspended
Bradford is irate about the entire ordeal and asserted that she wouldn’t be using that service anymore.
‘He’s not getting back on the bus,’ she said.
Both the Chambliss employee and the STS bus driver have been suspended. Chambliss has also asked that the driver – who has been with the company since 2016 – be assigned to a different route.
Chambliss also added that it will require bus monitors to go through another round of training in efforts to make sure nothing like that happens again.