DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – The driver of a Student Transportation of America school bus has been removed from service after a recent “deeply troubling incident,” the bus company confirmed Wednesday to News4JAX.
According to STA, the incident, which Duval County Public Schools said involved an unauthorized adult boarding the bus and touching a student, is under investigation.
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While the investigation continues, the driver has been removed from service, STA said.
“Ensuring the safety of our students is a core mission for STA and we are committed to delivering on that mission every day. Due to sensitive privacy details, we can only share that we are actively investigating the allegations in collaboration with the Duval County Public Schools Police,” STA said in a statement.
On Monday, a Duval County high school student told News4JAX that her morning bus ride turned into a frightening incident when a man boarded her school bus, sat next to her and touched her inappropriately.
“I’m concerned. I don’t even want to ride the bus no more,” she said.
News4JAX spoke with the student, named Makenzie, by phone about 12 hours after the incident. She described the man as an adult who boarded the bus and sat beside her.
“I’m looking out the window. I see a man coming, not sprinting, but running toward the bus. I wasn’t thinking nothing of it. I’m like, no way he’s going to get a bus. And lo and behold, he did,” she explained.
The student said the man sat next to her and started acting inappropriately. She said that, in addition to touching her, he exposed himself and touched himself. She also feared he might have a weapon.
“When he sat by me, he started touching my butt, my thigh,” she said. “I looked at him like crazy, like ‘What you got going on?’ type thing.”
The student said she went to the bus attendant and told her what happened.
“I just prayed I got up and I rushed up to the... bus lady, and she was confused. She was like ‘What’s going on?’ and I pointed toward him. I was like, ‘That’s a grown man on the bus,’” she said. “It took her a long time to stop the bus and then get him off the bus, because I was like, ‘Get him out of here!’”
News4JAX contacted Duval County Public Schools to learn more about the incident. They shared a statement with us about what happened.
Duval County Public Schools Police is actively investigating a deeply troubling incident involving a district bus operated by one of our contracted transportation vendors. Based on preliminary information, an unauthorized individual was allowed onto a bus enroute to Riverside High School while approximately five to seven students were on board. Bus video indicates the individual briefly reached over and touched a student on the knee.
The individual exited the bus shortly after the behavior was reported and was on board for less than a minute. When the bus arrived at school, administrators immediately ensured the students were safe, provided support, and notified families.
This remains an active investigation, and we are working closely with the appropriate authorities. We are very concerned that established safety protocols were not followed by our transportation vendor. Once the investigation is complete, the district will take any and all appropriate action.
For questions related to the bus driver, including employment status, please contact Student Transportation of America. We will share the police report when it becomes available.
Duval County Schools