Driver fired after Harrisburg School District student left in school van
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A driver has been fired after a Harrisburg elementary school student was left in a school van after falling asleep on the way to school.
According to a statement from Harrisburg School District Superintendent Eric Turman, the Foose Elementary School student fell asleep in the back of a van on the way to school on Thursday, Jan. 4.
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The statement goes on to say that the driver neglected to complete the daily required check process at the end of the bus run. The child was then marked absent and the student’s family was notified.
At that time, the child was found still asleep on the locked bus and was not injured. The bus company, Krapf Bus, is the company that the Harrisburg School District contracts bus services, and the driver was fired per Krapf policies.
Krapf also issued a statement regarding the incident, stating that as an added safety measure, the company is “meeting immediately with all drivers to review the importance of the ‘child check process’ to their role.” The company went on to say that they will “continue to do all we can to ensure this does not happen again.”
You can read both statements in their entirety below:
Harrisburg School District Statement:
Dear Foose Elementary School Community,
I’m writing to share some unfortunate news with you regarding an incident on a school bus this morning. One of our fifth-grade students fell asleep in the back of a van on the way to school, and the driver neglected to complete the daily required child check process at the end of the bus run. The child was marked absent, and his family was notified. It was at this time that the child was found, still asleep, on the locked bus. Fortunately, the child was not injured. However, this is certainly a very upsetting incident.
Our school bus services are contracted through Krapf Bus, a family-owned and operated school bus company with more than 80 years of an excellent safety record. The driver in this case was immediately terminated in accordance with Krapf policies. The company’s Safety Manager asked us to share with you that Krapf is holding meetings with drivers to remind them of how critical the child check process is to their role and that they very much regret that this incident occurred.
We have committed to communicating openly and honestly with our school community. Thank you for your support.
Eric Turman, Superintendent
Krapf School Bus Statement:
Krapf School Bus has been transporting school students for over 80 years. From the beginning, the safety of our passengers has been our number one priority. We very much regret that this occurred and are grateful that the child was safe. As soon as we learned that the driver had not completed our required ‘child check process,’ which is the driver’s walk-through of the bus at the end of each bus run, we terminated the driver in accordance with our policies. This is standard daily procedure and an important part of our training. As an added safety measure, we are meeting immediately with all drivers to review the importance of this process to their role. We are a family owned and operated company with more than 80 years of an excellent safety record. As parents and professionals, we take safety very seriously and will continue to do all we can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Krapf School Bus
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