5-year-old boy left alone on street corner

By Hum
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Grand Master

Hum

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DORAL, FL (WSVN) -- A 5-year-old boy was dropped off at the wrong bus stop and left all alone.

As traffic buzzed down Northwest 79th Avenue, 5-year-old Donovan stood alone and stranded Monday afternoon.

"I was on the bus and then they dropped me off right there and then I got lost," said Donovan Sangroni.

He attends Kindergarten at John Isner Elementary and despite a sign around his neck, detailing where he's supposed to go, Donovan made it on the wrong bus. His mom said he then got dropped off at the wrong stop near Northwest 44th Street and 79th Avenue.

"Later I came to find out that they left him on that corner," said the boy's mother, Charlene Diaz. "With no parent or guardian, with nobody, they just leave him on the corner and the bus left, and that's it."

As the school tried to track down Donovan, he walked to a nearby apartment complex looking for help.

"I walked to the security guard right there," said Donovan. That security guard called the school, who called his mom, who finally found her son.

"I was going crazy," said Diaz. "How could someone be so irresponsible to put a child on the wrong bus and just to leave him on the street."

Monday was Donovan's first day of his after school program.

"He was already telling me that he was a little scared," said Diaz, "He didn't know if the people we're going to know him and was afraid that he was gonna get lost, and he got lost."

Charlene Diaz and the District are both going to the elementary school tomorrow to further investigate why this occurred.

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Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

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That's a load of sh*t. She should sue the Hell out of the school district.

I agree. But also, she shouldn't be trusting some organisation to make sure her kid gets where he needs to be. I know -I- sure as hell wouldn't. I'd find some other way, either doing it myself, or asking a family member or friend.

Fortunately, in the UK at least, where childcare is involved, employers are legally required to be flexible as long as the requests are reasonable. My work, for example, has no problem with me arriving late on the times where I need to get my kids to school or something, as long as I make the time up.

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Grand Master

Southern Patriot

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Oh, OK, found the article I was thinking of, different case, but similar story: http://www.neowin.ne...off-school-bus/ What in the hell is wrong with these bus drivers??

I agree. But also, she shouldn't be trusting some organisation to make sure her kid gets where he needs to be.

Once the child is at school, it is the responsibility of the school to get that child on the correct bus in order to go home. Not only did that not happen here (they put him on the wrong bus), but the bus driver simply left the kid at a different stop. How is either thing the fault of the parent? Do schools in the UK not use school buses to take kids to and from their school and home?

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Apprentice

V8nside

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As a parent of young girls (grade1 and kindergarden), I think about this every day around the time they would be getting off the bus and heading to day care. At least for me the School, daycare and my home are all within walking distance of each other, but still this turns my stomach...

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Grand Master

FiB3R

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I guess I don't understand how it works over there.

Let me get this straight, you put a sign around your 5 year old kids neck, stick him/her on a bus, expect the driver to take care of them until they get to their stop, then make their own way to school from there?

And people are having a pop at the bus driver? wtf!?

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Grand Master

ILikeTobacco

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Oh, OK, found the article I was thinking of, different case, but similar story: http://www.neowin.ne...off-school-bus/ What in the hell is wrong with these bus drivers??

The only requirement for bus drivers is they pass the driving test for buses and have a clean record. There is really not much of a difference between a McDonald's burger flipper and a bus driver. Even the pay is the same. I would trust a bus driver with my child as much as I trust a McDonald's worker with my food, which means not at all.
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Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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Wow, so messed up. Bus driver, and whomever is in charge of getting the kids on the correct bus, should both be fired.

On a side not, the kid is so damn cute with his (I believe) Dopey 7 Dwarf stuffed animal.

And mom is pretty cute herself as well. :laugh:

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Grand Master

Southern Patriot

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I guess I don't understand how it works over there.

Let me get this straight, you put a sign around your 5 year old kids neck, stick him/her on a bus, expect the driver to take care of them until they get to their stop, then make their own way to school from there?

And people are having a pop at the bus driver? wtf!?

Works perfectly fine for millions of children all over the country here. Children at my kid's school (which is kindergarten through third grade) wear a lanyard on their neck with their name, address, and bus number (as well as any other special instructions such as if they attend after-school programs, etc.). The buses take the children to the school, not some random stop near it. The buses stop at the child's home (or in our case as the gate of our apartment complex) when they pick up and drop off the children. These are dedicated buses for the school, not just the regular public transportation buses.

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Grand Master

Pupik

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On a side not, the kid is so damn cute with his (I believe) Dopey 7 Dwarf stuffed animal.

And mom is pretty cute herself as well. :laugh:

Didn't click the link before making my previous reply. Makes sense now why this hit the news and other cases didn't.

Carry on.

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Grand Master

FiB3R

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Works perfectly fine for millions of children all over the country here. Children at my kid's school (which is kindergarten through third grade) wear a lanyard on their neck with their name, address, and bus number (as well as any other special instructions such as if they attend after-school programs, etc.). The buses take the children to the school, not some random stop near it. The buses stop at the child's home (or in our case as the gate of our apartment complex) when they pick up and drop off the children. These are dedicated buses for the school, not just the regular public transportation buses.

Derp! I had forgotten about those big yellow school buses you guys have over there. We don't have those, only public transport.

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Grand Master

Southern Patriot

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The only requirement for bus drivers is they pass the driving test for buses and have a clean record. There is really not much of a difference between a McDonald's burger flipper and a bus driver. Even the pay is the same. I would trust a bus driver with my child as much as I trust a McDonald's worker with my food, which means not at all.

I guess the school bus drivers here are a little more competent than the ones you are used to.

Derp! I had forgotten about those big yellow school buses you guys have over there. We don't have those, only public transport.

And people in the UK talk about the US being ignorant of how things work in other countries! LOL (just joking with you there :-) )

According to this report there are nearly half a million school buses in the US.

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Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

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Once the child is at school, it is the responsibility of the school to get that child on the correct bus in order to go home. Not only did that not happen here (they put him on the wrong bus), but the bus driver simply left the kid at a different stop. How is either thing the fault of the parent? Do schools in the UK not use school buses to take kids to and from their school and home?

Not at that age. We don't generally have dedicated school buses like in the US. Just regular ones, so are only used by older kids that can travel on their own.

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Grand Master

Southern Patriot

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Not at that age. We don't generally have dedicated school buses like in the US. Just regular ones, so are only used by older kids that can travel on their own.

Different country, different way of doing things. The US is geographically far too large for that to work here. A school here (especially in a state like Mississippi with a relatively low population density, even for the US) might typically serve an area of 50-100 square miles, not just a small neighborhood like they might in some other countries. Now, in a large city like NYC, things probably do operate more like they do in the UK.

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Grand Master

Shiranui

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Was the mother waiting at the correct bus stop for him to arrive?

If so, then it is indeed outrageous.

Not at that age. We don't generally have dedicated school buses like in the US. Just regular ones, so are only used by older kids that can travel on their own.

I always had a school bus when I went to school in the UK, but that was a long time ago.

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moloko

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I guess I don't understand how it works over there.

Let me get this straight, you put a sign around your 5 year old kids neck, stick him/her on a bus, expect the driver to take care of them until they get to their stop, then make their own way to school from there?

And people are having a pop at the bus driver? wtf!?

yes this is what the school system sets up and it their responsibility. They put the sign on the child in case he or she forgets where the stop is. The bus driver is responsible. It is easy process and works for thousands of little kids. I do not think the school system should get sued though. It was a mistake.

Again??? This just happened pretty recently somewhere around here (RI)... Ridiculous.

Yup I remember seeing something like this happen about a month ago and reported here.

Was the mother waiting at the correct bus stop for him to arrive?

He jumped on the wrong bus. Shouldn't a teacher for kindergarten put the kids on the bus? Upsetting. Then the bus driver just lets the kid off? WHY. Just go back to the school with the child and call the principle.

I do hope the mother was at the correct bus stop but would quickly worry if the bus came and went.

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