This is the week of drivers acting bad. First up is Wendy Valero of Middletown, Connecticut, who stands accused of exposing herself to a 14-year-old student. To make matters worse, the bus driver also allegedly engaged in sexual activity with the boy at her home. Valero was the bus driver for the victim for approximately three years and over the past year they became “friends” on various social media sites, messaging each other, which escalated to exchanging inappropriate pictures. Police arrested Valero on charges of risk of injury to a minor and second-degree sexually assault.
The second driver to run afoul of the law is Roger Lee Warren, 66, a former Humble Independent School District bus driver arrested during an undercover sting. The sting was in response to numerous citizen complaints about indecent exposure and public lewdness in Houston community parks. Investigators reported that Warren attempted to solicit sex acts in a public restroom and exposed his genitalia to an undercover deputy constable. He was charged with indecent exposure, a class B misdemeanor. The school district said Warren reported the incident to his supervisor and resigned Tuesday. Thankfully, Warren’s bond was set at $500.
Drivers aren’t the only ones dropping the ball, as districts seen to be failing uphill just as much. Case in point: One student was dropped off at the wrong bus stop; another was let out at the right stop, just 20 minutes earlier than expected. Both were very young. “That situation never happens during the regular school year,” said Rick Emling, director of transportation for Springfield Public Schools. He added that the recent incidents prompted investigations and corrective action. “We put across-the-board changes in place immediately,” he said. Emling acknowledged the transportation department experienced growing pains during a record-setting expansion. As a result, bus drivers drove abbreviated routes. “They are loading quicker at the school, leaving quicker at the school and completing routes faster,” he said. Emling added that bus drivers were instructed to “slow down and be patient” and maintain stop times. He said district officials notified each school leader to not release students and school buses earlier than expected.
The school bus driver told investigators that the kids were being unruly, making a lot of noise, and standing in their seats, adding that the behavior caused him to look in the rearview mirror just as the school bus in front of him started slowing down. The second school bus was coming to a stop because another school bus driver had extended the stop sign flap. As a father watched the moment when two school buses collided, he was reminded of what it was like the morning of the incident. “A lot of kids displaced, going to the hospital, parents rushing to the scene. You know it was chaos out there that day, chaos,” he said. The father reminded his young neighbors about safety on the school bus. “You sit down, you don’t stand up, so the bus driver can do what?” he said. The students replied with a hearty: “Concentrate.” The bus driver who hit the second bus was cited for inattentive driving. He still a bus driver for the district.
