A father in New Bedford, Massachusetts, was furious when his 5-year-old daughter was left on a school bus, alone and strapped into a seat for five hours.
Christopher Matton tells NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR that the incident occurred Thursday morning as his daughter was headed to her day care, Kiddie Kampus Child Development and Pre-school Center.
“I couldn't even believe this happened because they're so on top of my 5-year-old daughter about any little thing that she does," Matton told WJAR, "so for them to notice that she didn't even show up and didn't check the list. It just baffles me.”
According to Matton, his daughter was picked up by her bus as usual, and she was buckled in with a harness. She fell asleep during the ride, and when the bus arrived at the day care in Dartmouth, no one grabbed the little girl from the bus.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
Matton alleges that no one checked the bus when it returned to the Tremblay's lot in New Bedford, where the driver parked the bus with the girl still inside, strapped in to her seat.
“Nobody was there. She peed herself. She fell back to sleep from crying then she woke up again crying," Matton told WJAR. "I guess somebody finally heard her around 1:30, 2 o'clock in the afternoon, contacted Kiddie Campus, and brought her to Kiddie Kampus instead of contacting the authorities like they're supposed to.”
Tremblay's is not commenting at this time, WJAR reported, and Kiddie Kampus provided this statement to our affiliate that reads: “We are thankful that the child is home safe with their family. We are grateful that there is a full investigation into this issue and will continue to be helpful in any way that we can.”
Matton's daughter was taken to the hospital and evaluated following her ordeal. He says she's fine but will not be returning to Kiddie Kampus.
Local
“I just want parents to be able to let their children get on a bus and be safe," he said. "Like there is a bus driver and bus monitor now--like the bus monitor is there to make sure this doesn't happen.”
Matton also told WJAR that he wants to see changes.
“Their policy might need to get changed a little bit for them, to make sure that no one tries, this never happens to another child again.”
