A Fayette County school bus driver is under investigation after reportedly leaving a group of young children unattended inside a restaurant while he ordered breakfast and used the restroom during his morning route, reported Fox 13.
The incident reportedly happened on Aug. 7 when the driver pulled up with five elementary-aged students estimated to be between 5 and 7 years old and brought them into the restaurant. Cyndi Oliver, owner of Sweet Creations & Our Daily Bread in La Grange, Tennessee, said the school bus driver told her he couldn’t leave the children alone on the bus, so he escorted them inside before heading to the restroom.
“He came back in and said, ‘You know, I really can’t leave the kids on the bus,’” Oliver recalled. “Then he went to the restroom and left the children here.”
Oliver said the students were left sitting at a table, unsupervised, for about 10 minutes while the driver was in the restroom. After receiving his order, the driver reportedly returned to the bus, parked across the street and ate his meal before continuing his route.
According to the news report, Oliver was concerned about what she saw and contacted the Fayette County School Board immediately but said she didn’t receive a response for several hours. She later posted about the incident in a local community Facebook group, urging parents of children who ride bus No. 73 to reach out.
“Ten minutes is a long time,” she said via the report. “If I hadn’t been that person, I could have asked any one of those children to come with me … and they would have gone.”
In response, Fayette County Public Schools issued a statement via the article acknowledging the incident and confirming that the situation is under review.
“Student safety is our top priority, and we take this matter very seriously,” the statement reads. “The situation is currently under investigation in accordance with district policy and procedures. Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”
Oliver said she was later contacted by a school district official who assured her that steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. However, the district has not provided details regarding those specific measures when contacted by local news reporters.
As of this report, the bus driver’s status with the district remains unclear pending the outcome of the investigation.
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