A bus driver and an aide were arrested Friday on charges of neglect for allegedly leaving a 4-year-old boy with special needs alone on a school bus in Jersey City for several hours.
The child was supposed to be dropped off at a school for special needs kids Wednesday morning but was found aboard the bus about five hours later by a custodian for the bus company, Atlantic Express. The boy was found seated and strapped in with seatbelts, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.
Bus driver Lorine Balkaran, 56, and aide Kyshon William, 25, both of Jersey City, face charges of child abuse and neglect in connection with the incident.
According to police, the pair violated the bus company's policy when they failed to check the vehicle to make sure no children were left behind.
The child was taken to the hospital for evaluation and was "doing pretty good," Police Chief Thomas Comey said.
A spokeswoman for the company said the driver was fired, and said it has "zero tolerance for any lapses in our strict protocols and policies for checking buses and making sure all children are accounted for."
