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Driver disciplined for leaving student on bus
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
A school-bus driver has been suspended for five days without pay for leaving a kindergarten student on the bus after he parked it in the garage March 14.
Gary Brian, 62, a bus driver for the Niles School District, previously had been placed on paid leave until his disciplinary hearing could be completed, according to Frank Danso, district interim superintendent.
Danso said that Brian, a four-year employee, did not realize that the boy was still on the bus after he finished his route and parked the vehicle. According to the superintendent, the child was discovered within minutes after Brian had left by a mechanic who immediately notified the building principal and the boy’s parents.
“All of our bus drivers are required to do a bus check before they leave the vehicle,” Danso said. “They have to walk up and down and check the aisles, and [Brian] didn’t do that.”
Danso said he was informed that the boy apparently fell asleep and was not sitting up when the bus was parked. “He was fine when he was found, but he would have been seen had there been a bus check,” the superintendent said.
The superintendent said that Brian has no record of any previous disciplinary actions.