School district: Driver left 4-year-old Marina Del Mar student on bus

A bus driver accidentally left a 4-year-old autistic girl alone inside a school bus for at least two hours, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District officials said.

The school district said the driver failed to make sure all students were off the bus Friday morning when he checked out for the day.

NewsChannel 5 reporter Jacqueline Tualla spoke with the Del Rey Oaks Police Department Tuesday, where the chief is calling for a criminal investigation.

The student, who attends Marina Del Mar Elementary School, was left unattended in a special needs bus that was parked at the school district’s bus yard in Del Rey Oaks. As of Tuesday, she was doing fine.

The police department is aggressively investigating the case while the school district is putting in place new protocols.

“There’s an expectation that when you get on a bus that you’re child is safe,” said Chief Ron Langford. “So the question is how could a 4-year-old autistic little girl be left unattended on a bus for a minimum of two hours?”

The bus driver, a substitute for the district, was supposed to do a sweep of the bus to make sure all the students were off, district officials said.

Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh said that another bus driver came back at 11:30 a.m. to pick up the bus for the afternoon shift and discovered the student still on it.

“It’s very concerning to us. I have two officers and a sergeant assigned to it as we speak,” said Chief Langford. “We talked to the victims family this morning and we intend to send a case to the district attorney’s office for review.”

In light of the incident, district officials say they will be adding aides to help with additional sweeps of the buses, and staff will reach out to parents when students don’t show up for class to make sure their absence is excused. The bus driver at the center of this issue is no longer employed by the district.