Local news reported a school-bus bomb scare in Helena, Montana, that in the end turned out to be nothing more than a “mischievous” science experiment, said the local sheriff.
Officially, Helena School District and bus contractor First Student continue to investigate why the school bus driver did not immediately respond to an on-board incident and instead finished his route before returning to the bus depot and reporting it to supervisors, said district Superintendent Kent Kultgen.
But Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo C. Dutton told School Transportation News on Friday that it was much ado about nothing.
The incident occurred Wednesday, when Dutton said that two male students on the bus submerged a corroded AA battery in a water bottle. The students then began to shake the bottle, which caused a commotion, but, the sheriff said, there was no intention of blowing up the bus.
Still, the driver noticed the “mischievous activity” occurring, reprimanded the students and made them throw away the bottle.
At that point, Dutton said that another student commented that there was a battery in the bottle, and another student asked if the boys were trying to build a bomb, which prompted a third student to answer in the affirmative.
“It was just a daisy-chain of ideas,” Dutton added. “Chatter among the students was building, but there was no actual threat, so the driver kept driving.”
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After finishing the route, the driver returned to the depot and decided he should mention the incident to a supervisor, Dutton said. The local First Student operation called the sheriff’s office to investigate, and responding deputies determined that the discarded bottle and battery were benign.
Dutton said that his office does not fault the driver, who at no time saw anything suspicious aside from the boys other than the misbehavior that was disrupting the ride.
Meanwhile, Kultgen said that the school district is working with First Student to investigate why the bus driver waited so long to notify supervisors of the incident. He said that the district and bus contractor partner on policies and procedures for handling similar situations, such as the one that occurred, and added that First Student does provide training to all drivers regarding how to handle a safety threat on the bus.
