Mom: 6-year-old left alone on Ypsilanti school bus after falling asleep

A student was left alone on a school bus Thursday, his mom says.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

He got a window down, dropped out of the bus and was wandering around the Ypsilanti transportation yard on Railroad Street when a worker spotted him.

“I was totally shocked,” Bass said. “It was irresponsible.”

The district is investigating the situation, spokeswoman Emma Jackson said. The district has placed the bus driver on paid administrative leave while that probe is ongoing.

Tevin is a first-grader at Estabrook Elementary School. He normally rides the bus from the time school is dismissed around 3:30 p.m. until somewhere between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. He’s dropped off at Bass’ house, where a childcare provider picks him up.

Bass said she got a phone call from an Ypsilanti administrator sometime around 6:30 p.m. Thursday while she was at work, telling her that her son was safe. Since then, she’s had additional calls from administrators and the school principal apologizing, she said.

“I ran right in when I got home and gave him a big hug,” she said. “I asked him how he was doing, and he said that he was doing OK.”

Bass said she believes the bus driver didn't walk through the bus after the route was complete to make sure all the kids had gotten off. She also said her son has fallen asleep before on the bus and missed his stop, but was discovered by the bus driver in that case and was dropped off at home.

“It was negligent,” Bass said. “He’s not riding the bus anymore.”

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.