West Orange Student Left Unattended On School Bus: Official

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A six-year-old child in West Orange fell asleep on a school bus and was left unattended for about 40 minutes on Friday morning, district administrators said.

West Orange Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky sent a letter to parents and guardians in the district about the incident on Friday. He said that he has asked the company that employs the driver – the Hunterdon County Educational Service Commission – to fire the person responsible.

Rutzky’s letter stated:

“This morning a bus driver employed by the Hunterdon County Educational Service Commission, which performs certain bus runs for the West Orange School District, failed to perform the mandatory inspection of his bus after dropping students off at Redwood Elementary School and returning to the bus depot. Unfortunately, a six-year-old student had fallen asleep and was left on the bus unattended. Thankfully, a district employee who was refueling the vehicle inspected the bus and discovered the sleeping student who had been on the bus for approximately forty minutes. Immediately upon discovering the student, the school district contacted the student’s parents and the West Orange Police Department.”

Rutzky added:

“The West Orange Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are presently investigating this matter. I have contacted the Hunterdon County Educational Service Commission and directed them that the driver be immediately terminated. Should there be any further developments regarding the West Orange Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation, the public will be notified.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page here.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File photo (not the bus in the above article): Shutterstock