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7-year-old left stranded after school bus misses stop in Fulton County

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Published  October 24, 2024 6:24pm EDT
Union City
FOX 5 Atlanta

7-year-old dropped at wrong bus stop

A 7-year-old child missed her bus stop on the way home from school on Monday, but what happened next had a Fulton County mother fuming.

The Brief

    • A 7-year-old, Alayah Adeyemi, missed her bus stop on the way home and was left at the end of the route, not the designated stop.
    • Her mother, Candace Adeyemi, was informed about the situation and had to leave work to search for her daughter, eventually finding her near their home, visibly upset.
    • Candace expressed distrust in the transportation system and frustration that the bus driver did not return her daughter to the school.
    • Fulton County Schools acknowledged the driver broke protocol, stating retraining will occur, and emphasized their commitment to student safety and protocol enforcement.
    • Following the incident, Alayah will receive counseling and will no longer be using the school bus service.

UNION CITY, Ga. - A 7-year-old child missed her bus stop on the way home from school on Monday, but what happened next had a Fulton County mother fuming.

"That was the scariest, I would say, hour and 20 minutes of my life," said Candace Adeyemi. "My daughter has never rode the bus in the afternoon. I don't trust the transportation system because it's always something."

Candace says her daughter, Alayah Adeyemi, missed her stop and the driver did not realize until the other kids were off.

"Alayah told her none of this looks familiar to her and then the bus driver's words was this is the end of my route and told her to get off the bus," Candace said.

Candace’s niece was supposed to pick her up, but when Alayah did not get off the bus at the correct stop, Candace got a call and rushed home from work to look for her.

"I'm riding around Alayah, Alayah, I'm screaming her name," Candace said. "Around the corner from our house, near the entrance is where I found her just walking down the street crying."

Candace is frustrated because she says her daughter should have been taken back to Liberty Point Elementary School instead of being left at a random stop.

"Nobody was like, ‘Oh my God, let's see what we could do,’" she said. "If I didn't call them, nothing would have happened, absolutely nothing, and that's just unacceptable when you're dealing with something as precious as people's kids."

Candace says after investigating, Fulton County Schools told her the driver broke protocol and will be retrained.

Fulton County Schools released this statement: "We take incidents like this very seriously. The district has thoroughly investigated and communicated directly with the parent involved. We have high standards and expectations of our drivers, and in this case, these were not met. We are addressing it. Our parents can trust that the transportation department prioritizes the safety of every student. We are committed to ensuring this does not happen again."

"I'm scared for a lot of parents because my thing now is how many kids has this already happened to," Candace said.

After this incident, Alayah’s parents have decided to put her in counseling. They also say she will never ride the bus again.

The Source

  • FOX 5 Atlanta original reporting