MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee 4K student was locked inside a school bus alone for nearly an hour on Thursday, the boy's mother said.
Beonca Bonner called TMJ4 with concerns over a lack of accountability after a driver with Go Riteway Transportation left her 4-year-old son locked on a bus in their transportation terminal.
"When I can't get a hold of my child, that's when my anxiety kicks in," said Bonner.
Bonner's son was taking his bus home from Milwaukee Scholars Charter School on Thursday—a route scheduled to drop him off at home at 5:08 p.m.
"5:08 comes, no bus," Bonner said. "Then came 5:09. So then, I contacted the school."
Bonner said the school then confirmed her son was placed on his bus as usual, prompting her to contact the transportation company, Go Riteway.
"They're like, 'Oh no, the route is clear, the driver is clear for that route,'" Bonner recalled. "At that point, I'm trying not to panic, and I just bust out crying, like, I can't find my son."
As a former bus driver with the same company, Bonner began asking if the driver of her son's route completed her post-route check of the vehicle.
"Did she walk to the back of the bus, walk back, look under the seats, and put her card in the back window to check and see that there’s no kids?"
Watch: 4k student left inside locked school bus alone, mother asks for accountability
According to Bonner, after nearly an hour of trying to locate her son, the bus company found him locked in the bus, honking the horn.
"So that's how they found him—blowing the horn and crying."
Her 4-year-old son said he fell asleep on the ride home and woke up in a dark bus, alone.
She said she reached out to TMJ4 because she was not getting answers from the bus company.
"I hope the driver is terminated, and I hope that the bus company sees this, or gets wind of it, and utilizes it to change the rules."
TMJ4's Mariam Mackar went to Go Riteway to see if any investigation was being done as a result of Thursday's incident.
After visiting the terminal, Mackar was told to call their corporate offices.
Before she could ask anything about Thursday's incident, Mackar was told "no comment" by the employee on the phone.
"I haven't even shared what the incident is, and there's no comment?" Mackar asked.
They replied, "No comment."
"So, you have no comment about a child being left on a bus for an hour? Locked on a bus?" Mackar continued.
Once again, the only response given was "no comment."
Bonner said those two words do not offer enough accountability for a mother who was left worrying for her child's well-being.
"They always say, 'Well, we need the drivers,'" Bonner said. "Yeah, well, we need our kids home safe, too. Which one is more important?"
In response to a request for comment, Milwaukee Scholars Charter School provided this statement:
We were upset after learning one of our students did not get off at their regularly scheduled bus stop and are grateful they were returned safely to their family. One of the promises we make to our families is a school environment that is safe and focused on student well-being. This promise extends to our partners who support us in providing services such as transportation. We are working closely with this provider to reinforce the stringent protocols already in place to ensure student safety, so that no parent has this experience again.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
