Driver resigns over bus stop incident

Wake Forest, N.C. — A Wake Forest bus driver, who left a second-grader at a bus stop instead of taking him to school, resigned Thursday.

Lisa McGlohon said she watched son Brady climb on his school bus at the intersection of Clarincarde Court and Penfold Lane on July 16 and then left to go about her day.

But Brady never made it to North Forest Pines Elementary School.

McGlohon said that, even though the bus Brady got on takes children to the school, the bus wasn't his assigned bus. Instead of taking Brady to school anyway, McGlohon said the driver dropped him back off on the corner – all by himself.

"He is 6 years old, and he shouldn't be left alone at any given time,” she said.

Brady was frightened and crying, but he was also smart. When he realized he was alone, he went door to door at neighbors' homes asking for help.

A neighbor got Brady safely to school.

The bus driver, Charlie Taylor, resigned Thursday, a Wake County school system spokesman said. The 51-year-old had been a driver for the district since 1993, the spokesman said.

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Latest Comments

firefamilyxfour===Good article. She was probably to busy on the cell phone.

maxpower
July 30, 2008 9:31 p.m.

Making the little amount that bus drivers make nowadays, you really can not expect them to care whether the kids are dropped off at the right place or not. I have seen many bus drivers speeding, jerking kids, slamming brakes and most of it gets reported, but the schools do nothing about it, until something like this happens, because there are not enough bus drivers to go around, due to the low pay, combine this with the fact that now most teacher assistants, cafeteria workers, and janitors are now asked to do double duty and drive buses.

squawk08
July 30, 2008 4:33 p.m.

Brady's mom seem to be a little overprotective if you ask me. This kid was OK, and probably learned a lesson (as should MOM). But to expect him to lose his job (which has happened) is ridiculous. She certainly got her 15 min. of fame. (undeserved as it was).

mmania
July 30, 2008 3:40 p.m.

Don't the bus drivers have some way of communicating with the school?

mojokitty
July 30, 2008 2:41 p.m.

I agree Red Head Girl. It concerns me that more than one bus is coming to the stop and going to the same school. It is possible the child lives between two stops and different buses pass each stop. He may be assigned to the bus at the other nearby stop. There may be a logical explanation, but the planning seems a little disorganized and very confusing for everyone. Maybe we should always have the route numbers posted in the door and front window of the bus. That way it eliminates the confusion when there is a substitute driver or a replacement bus. We pay taxes for this service and the bottom line is that once a child is on a bus, it is the driver's responsibility to see to their safety regardless of whether it is the correct bus or not.