A 4-year-old child was left inside a bus unattended in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, last Tuesday, and the bus driver and monitors have been fired as a result.
Police say the boy is enrolled in the extended school year program and was unintentionally left in a minibus, transported back to the bus yard and left inside as the driver and monitors left, NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR reports.
The boy eventually got off the bus, and an employee found him, officials said. He was not injured.
North Kingstown Superintendent Kenneth Duva said an internal investigation revealed that the bus driver and bus monitors failed to follow the mandatory safety procedure, and they have since been terminated, according to WJAR.
“This troubling situation was both shocking and unacceptable, and does not reflect the standards of safety and care we uphold throughout our District,” Duva wrote in a letter to the school community. “We are deeply sorry this incident occurred.”
The superintendent also said that the district will be implementing new measures, including mandatory retraining for drivers and monitors, enhanced safety checks and technology safety additions.
North Kingstown school officials said that the state's Department of Children, Youth and Families was notified about the incident, WJAR reports.
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Police have said that no criminal charges will be filed.
