MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A bus driver is back on the job after being investigated for leaving students in a neighborhood more than four miles from where they were supposed to be.
That’s confirmed by Durham School Services officials.
“Durham has learned from that incident. They’ve been very cooperative in trying to make the shift necessary to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said SCS Superintendent Dorsey Hopson last month after the incident.
Durham School Services said the driver followed protocol but have not yet provided reasons how.
After requesting the paperwork and more answers, we found out that if drivers are in a situation where help is needed they’re supposed to pull over and radio dispatch.
Students on the bus at the time told us the driver was frustrated from being lost and some kids were acting out.
“They were loud and like, shouting and screaming,” student Alayla Wright said.
Protocol says the dispatcher will then assess the circumstances and can send another bus over or call authorities.
In this case, multiple kids got off the bus after saying the driver threatened them.
“When he dropped us off, he told us to get out and not to tell anybody anything. He said, ‘Don’t tell anybody or he’d do something,'” student Ariana Wright said.
Durham said that wasn’t true.
Regardless, the driver did leave middle school students alone and continue his route.
The kids had to call a parent to pick them up.
We’re still trying to learn how that’s protocol. A Durham spokesperson said they are working on getting us more information.
We also obtained a charging document from 2014 when this driver was pulled over.
The report said he didn’t have a driver’s license and was using high beams, because he couldn’t see well in the dark.
He was a bus monitor at the time, and then became a driver last year.
We asked how someone who had trouble seeing in the dark could end up driving children four years later.
Durham said employees are given an exam at the DMV and during a DOT physical.
SCS handbook records say the district’s physician then approves the exam reports.
We haven’t been granted any interviews about the subject.
SCS said in a statement they work closely with Durham to conduct the hiring process and that applicants background results are vetted by their security and transportation teams.
