NC student charged with jumping on bus driver’s back during assault, sheriff says
A Salisbury middle school student has been charged with jumping on a bus driver’s back and assaulting the person after a fight broke out between students Tuesday afternoon.
The driver was in the process of dropping off students from Erwin Middle School in Rowan County around 2:40 p.m. when a fight broke out among three students. As the driver attempted to intervene, one student jumped on his back and tried to reach around him to hit another student, striking the bus driver in the face in the process, according a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The driver sustained a minor injury to his nose and did not require medical treatment, according to the news release from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. None of the students were injured.
Officers from Salisbury Police Department responded to the scene along with a school resource officer from Erwin Middle School.
“Although Salisbury PD arrived at the scene because they were in the city limits, the school resource officer came and took the lead on the case,” Linda McElroy, communications director for the city of Salisbury, told The Charlotte Observer.
The school resource officer at the scene is employed by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
The students were referred to juvenile court, and one was charged with the assault on the bus driver. The students were all released to their parents at the scene of the incident.
Rowan-Salisbury School System declined to comment whether any disciplinary action has been taken.
