A Cedarburg mom said her son's school bus sat on the side of the road Tuesday morning after it slid down a hill and into a ditch.
The Ozaukee County Sheriff's office said the bus lost traction, so they came out to monitor the situation until the bus was towed around 11:00 a.m.
Michelle Pries knew roads were slick when her son got on the bus.
"I had texted him 'let me know when you get to school okay, I know the roads are slippery." and then I had no idea his response was going to be 'we just went in a ditch.'"
Pries' son texted her updates, but she never got information from his middle school.
"I was assuming they would be sending out a rescue bus," she said. But two and a half hours later she said no bus had arrived. Pries eventually went to take her son to school herself.
The Cedarburg school district said the road wasn't salted properly, so they said the deputy called the City to salt. The district tells TODAY'S TMJ4 they're pleased the bus company didn't send another bus to slide like the first one did, or require the kids to walk on slick surfaces to a second bus.
Pries said she's even more concerned after her younger child was on a bus to elementary school two weeks ago when that bus slid into a ditch. She said the second bus Go Riteway sent towed the first out of the ditch, "which again is a safety concern," she said.
The District said they're working with the bus company to improve procedures for incidents like these. The bus company issued the following statement:
Road conditions varied in different areas of the Cedarburg School District during the communication breakdown last week and this morning.
We do have protocols in place to communicate delays to school staff, administrators and our families. With the changing weather conditions, we experienced a delay in following our protocols.
We apologize and regret any moments of anxiousness caused. We look forward to exploring other avenues of communication with our district partners.
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