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School Bus Leaves 6-Year-Old Far From Home

A Hoke County school bus driver has been pulled from a route after a 6-year-old boy was let off his bus a mile from home Monday.

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RAEFORD, N.C. — A Hoke County school bus driver has been pulled from a route after a 6-year-old boy was let off his bus a mile from home Monday.

Nikki Perez was riding the bus home from his Jump Start Program on Monday afternoon when the bus driver neglected to stop at the boy's assigned bus stop, said Nikki's mother Christina Perez.

Instead, the driver stopped where Nikki said he lived, which was actually a mile from his home, Christina Perez said.

"I was so worried. I'm just so glad to have him back," Perez said. "The bus driver didn't ask him his name, didn't check to see what child was getting off the bus."

Robert Creech, transportation director for the Hoke County school district, said driver violated policy by dropping Nikki off at an unauthorized stop.

The driver has been taken off the route, but Christina Perez said she thinks further discipline is needed.

"(It bothers me) when you think about everything and what could've happened," she said.

Nikki got home Monday afternoon because of a Good Samaritan named Josette Kare.

"There was a little boy running down the road. So, I slowed down, and he jumped in front of my vehicle and asked if I would bring him home," Kare said.

Christina Perez called Kare the family's guardian angel and said she was thankful for the woman's kind actions toward her son.

Creech said all drivers would be reminded during an orientation session Friday to let children off only at authorized bus stops.

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