FRANKLIN, N.J., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A New Jersey bus driver was fired after a boy, 3, spent his school day in frigid temperatures aboard a school bus instead of in school, officials said.
Mishiloh Akturk said she put her son on the bus Tuesday morning for his ride to Franklin Park School in Franklin, N.J., and received a call later in the day informing her he never entered the school.
"I got a call at about 2 p.m. saying he sat on the bus all day without heat or food or anything," she said, adding the boy had only recently begun attending the school. "Thank God I bundled him with layers and his hat and gloves. He sat on that bus for five-plus hours. He could have frozen to death."
Emergency medical personnel checked the boy and found him without injuries, the news website mycentraljersey.com reported Wednesday, but a manager of Mercer Transportation, owner of the bus, said the unidentified driver was fired immediately.
"The bus is equipped with a Child Reminder System. When you turn off the bus, the bus gives a buzz, or some noise. You (the driver) have to walk to the back of the bus and open the door and close the door to stop the noise. He (the driver) did not follow procedure," the unidentified manager said.
Police Sgt. Philip Rizzo said the incident is under investigation.
