Mother says 5-year-old was put on wrong bus, left alone in neighborhood

Britney Brown said she is still trying to figure out why her 5-year-old daughter, Maliya, was placed on the wrong bus. She said she just happened to find out about the mistake while corresponding with the child’s teacher about school pictures via email.

Brown said her daughter attends Wakefield Elementary School and is supposed to ride the bus to an after-school care facility.

Tuesday, while Brown was emailing her daughter’s teacher, she said she was told Maliya was placed on a different bus route that drops her off in her neighborhood.

Brown said she left work and immediately called police, telling them the location where her daughter would be dropped off because she knew she would not be able to make it there in time.

Brown said she is angry when she thinks about what could have happened and wants an explanation.

“Someone could’ve took her and it does not need to happen again. The rules need to be stricter, the bus drivers need to be taking accountability, especially for the younger kids getting off the bus because next time it could be a very unfortunate situation,” Brown said.

Brown said she ended up picking up her daughter from the police station, thanks to the phone call she made.

Wake County School spokeswoman Lisa Luten released the following statement in response to the incident:

“We are aware that a student from Wakefield Elementary School rode the bus home and was dropped off without a parent present at the bus stop. We require that parents notify the school if changes are made in their child's transportation plans. In this case, the parent did not notify the school that their child's transportation plans had changed. The child was released at a bus stop with other children and adults, but not in the care of her parent. We are reviewing the incident and will reiterate the appropriate protocol to all parties involved to ensure the safety of our students. “