Newport News 7-year-old falls asleep on school bus, wakes up in bus barn alone

I drove buses for 12 years in the Army. the driver is supposed to do a visual sweep of the entire bus before securing and leaving. The driver is fully responsible.

This is so disturbing. This should never happen! So glad he is safe.

This is inexcusible. I drove school busses for years and every driver knows at the end of the day you walk to the back of that bus and walk up the rows double checking to make sure no child is left . The driver does not need retraining, she needs to be fired.

This happened to me when I was like 9 years old. I fell asleep on the bus ride home, I woke up in a bus with no one around, just tons of busses parked around the bus I was in. The bus driver was checking the bus when he saw me and I told him what happened. He was kind enough to drive the bus all the way back to my bus stop and drop me off. I got home late that day but I got home safe. My parents where so mad at me for coming home late. Safe to say never again did I fall asleep on the bus no matter how tired I was.

I can't understand why she didnt get her lazy butt up and do a sweep of the bus smh Im glad hes okay.

Nobody’s talking about how that kid knew how to direct the awesome strangers to his home? That was amazing on his end!

This happened to my friend on a city bus when she was 10, except the driver pulled into a parking lot and went to sleep himself!! LOL she had to wake him up and ask for a ride home. Definitely important to check every seat.

I'm so sorry that happened to him but so glad he is safe and back home with his family God is good 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

This happened to be once when I was 5 or 6 lmao, I fell asleep on the bus and woke up in a bus yard, walked my way off the bus and walked until I found a bus driver still at the lot and cried for my mom😂😂

Such a class act when so many would be screaming. That God that someone good returned him home safe. Bless this family

Poor little sweet baby I can only imagine how scared he was. I'm glad go samaritans found him and made sure he got home safe.

This same exact situation happened to my grandson. Only difference he did not have to walk alone like this poor little angel. My daughter called the bus barn because she was waiting outside for him and he had not come home at his scheduled time. When the person at the bus barn called her back she was told that my grandson had fallen asleep and the driver didn’t know so he continued his route. My daughter had to drive to the location of the bus to get my grandson or he would have to be dropped off 3 hours from his normal time. I was irate when I found out that there was even a bus aide riding along. A comment made about my grandson not getting enough sleep and I lost it. My grandson is up at 5:45 am, picked up at 6:20 am when school starts at 8:05 am. School is let out at 3:15 pm and he gets home at 4:20 pm. That’s 10 hours he is away from home and for a 6 year old that makes for a long day of course he would be tired. My daughter would take him to school but has a two year old she would have to wake up and take when she has to take him to school. My son in law works nights and doesn’t get home until 8:30. I really hate when administrators try and blame home life for their employees mistakes. The aide should do their job and monitor who gets on and off the bus instead of gossiping with the bus driver. Sit in back where you are able to see the kids and maybe something like this won’t happen again.

Good for this woman sticking up for her grandson and not just allowing this incident to be swept under the rug.

That's absolutely crazy. I'm glad the person who picked him up had good intentions but this story could have had a different ending. You have to check the bus. There's no excuse period.

In California, every school bus is mandatory to have a “child safety check” button at the back of the bus. When the driver turns off the engine, the driver will need to walk back and press the button to turn off the alarm (horn goes off if not press). This makes the driver to get up and walk through the aisle and check for students who may have fallen asleep.

This is so scary. I can't imagine the confusion the child felt.

So scary when you think of all the horrific things that could have happened to this young one. So glad good people were there to rescue him. Just so happy he is now safe!! Driver's take heed and check your buses. Praying for love, success and happiness for this young man. ❣❣🙏🙏

The driver is completely and utterly incompetent.

I'm glad he got home alright -

I fell asleep on the bus at least 3 times when I was in elementary and all times the bus driver or a school person woke my ass up and got me off the bus 😂 I can't imagine someone not walking through the bus to make sure it's empty! What a freaking nightmare for everyone involved. I would feel so horrible as the driver cuz THAT'S SOMEONES BABY! 😬😤

As a child I attended Lee Hall School in Newport News. We went on a field trip one day. Towards the end I had to go to the bathroom. I was in there for about 5 minutes or so. When I came out the bathroom everybody was gone. I was left behind. That was 47 years ago. Doesn't seem like much has changed in the Newport News School Bus system since back then!

Wow, reading the comments and seeing everyone talk about how similar situations happened to them is just sad. Glad y’all are safe.

This happened to my cousin but she woke up late in the evening. My aunt was frantic and called the police. The driver didn't check the seats but the police and driver went back to the bus and found her still sleeping. 😳

I fell asleep when I was 6, lived deep in the countryside. Driver did their job at the end of the line! Took me back and I was just late.
When I drove schoolbus, heck, when driving ALL busses, you are TRAINED to physically sweep the bus at the end of the line for sleepers! That is your duty!
As a professional, I apologize to the child and the family on behalf of the failure of this bus operator! That must have been a really scary adventure 😳

This happened to my daughter in 2nd grade!! My sister was supposed to pick her up, I was at work. She called me, ‘Noelle never got off the bus.’ I never drove home so fast in my life. I’m calling the school, no one has answers, we couldn’t find her. It was the worst hour of my life. The driver never checked the bus, which I found out is a requirement that they check the seats before they leave for the day. I got my 7 year old a cell phone the very next day. Anytime I heard someone say kids shouldn’t have a phone that young, I tell them the story of how my daughter was left alone on a bus that day, and I had no way to reach here or her, me. I would rather my 7 year old have a phone because of shit like this! I know the fear this woman felt. It’s terrifying.

Glad he was returned home safely. Something more sinister could’ve happen. Shoutout to h the great samaritans. Still kindness, love and compassion in this world that we call life.

My grandma drives a school bus. She has always checked the seats. Even when I rode with her and checked it for her, she would double check every single seat before going back in the house. She always said she didn’t want a kid sleeping in her driveway all night lol

When my son was 5 and in a new state, I stood outside waiting for the bus that never came. I finally called the bus company and told them my son's name and the bus number and they cackled. When they finally stopped laughing and calling over friends to laugh, they told me he's fine and he was still on the bus. Apparently he'd already asked the bus driver when he could go home. His address was on his backpack and he told them but they just didn't drop him off. As a parent that had stood outside waiting for an hour, this was panic inducing and the laughter was enraging. I had to wait another 45 minutes while she dropped off other students and walk with a newborn to the open field 1/2 mile away, where she parked, to get him. This happened two other times. I drove him after that. People don't care. If it's not their kid, it's not their problem.

Whew child!!I would have been a nervous wreck if that was my child.Thank God for putting good people in this baby path.

What? How does that happen? Bless that little one's heart you know he woke up scared. What a brave little man.

This happened to my daughter when she was around 5 years old. Fall asleep in the bus while came back home from school, one hour after her drop off time I don't see her come home I called the school and they checked, she still in the busses parking lot. Now she 24 and still remember the event like yesterday.

The Lord Jesus was with the boy watching over him and protecting him.

This happened to me when I was 5. That was the day I learned how to drive a bus. Lol!

So thankful that precious baby made it home safely 🙏🏾💙

Make all buses be equiped with child check alarm so the driver must walk to back to turn it off. Even with the alarm a child could be below the seats so alarm & visual search are best practice.

Silvesta the cat be sitting on her hed LOL

Omg this family is lucky they got their kid back safely! Something needs to be done. Several years ago an Azusa CA family lost their middle schooler autistic non verbal child who was forgotten too in a bus yard. He died from overheating. It was heartbreaking and cemented my decion not to let my autistic child take the bus for middle school. What is wrong with these bus drivers. It takes a minute to walk up and down the aisle to check for kids.

This same thing happened to my grandson. He fell asleep on the bus, but my daughter was on it when He didn't get off the bus. She went looking right away and caught up with the bus! The bus driver needs to check that bus before they turn it in for the day. I'm happy that this was a happy ending.

This happened when I was 6. I only remember seeing my mother running through the bus lot screaming my name. I was knocked out! I've never seen her so scared when she snatched me up... And I'm 35 now.

A simple sweep of the bus would have prevented this unfortunate event. Schools must do better to protect our children. Glad to see the child arrived safely at home. Could’ve ended a lot different.

Same thing happened to my 5 year old. They found him but not before he police were involved

What a brave kid he is, but iknow deep down him he is so scared, thank god he gave him strength and sharp mind to think and act and he is safe now. Hope it dont happen Again to anyone else.. this is traumatic.. i commend the classy gramma for being so calm, i dont know what to feel if this happend to me… i hope to be like you gramma..

Thank God there are kind, decent people in this world who took Marcus home!

I had the same bus driver all the way up til my sophomore year in high school. She knew us. Many had been driven by her since elementary.
She always made sure that we crossed the street before driving off. Whether it was dropping us off at school or at home, she knew who was suppose to get on/off at any particular stop. If someone fell asleep, and we were at our stop, she knew and either woke us up herself or had another kid wake us up.
I never saw what she did at the end of her route, but I do know that when she would drop us off at school she's walk down the aisle and make sure everyone and their property were off the bus.
I don't know what wrong with people these days. Like why wouldn't you check to make sure all the kids were off the bus before dropping the bus off at it's sparking spot/barn??
A close family friend's daughter died like that. She was around 5/6yr old and would be picked up/dropped off at the daycare center/ home. One this particular summer day, she fell asleep on the way to the daycare center. It wasn't until the driver got on the bus to go pick up the other kids from the center that her presence was noticed. But by then she had been dead for a few hours.
🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💜💜💜
Even with a pretty hefty settlement, the pain and loss still is very present in our friend's life.
Like people really have got to stop playing around when it comes to kids, theirs or someone else's.
Plenty people will gladly take jail/prison time if it means people know not to do anything to their kids.
I give very little sympathy to those who get their asses kicked up and down the road by some rightfully upset parents/family members.
It's one thing if it's an unavoidable situation, but taking shortcuts or straight up bypassing normal procedures, is something very much worthy of an ass kicking.
Don't play around with people's kids. If you wouldn't treat your kids like that don't assume you can treat others' kids that way. And if you do treat your kids with the same neglect you give to others' kids then not only is the ass whooping justified, but also you losing custody of our own kids.
Don't be a hypocrite and not give others' kids the same attention and caring that you demand your child be shown.
🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💜💜💜💜

Something similar happened to me when I was in elementary school. I had recently moved and school had just started. I missed my stop because I didn’t recognize my new neighborhood. Even though I tried to tell the bus driver the way I had memorized to go home and showed him my address from my bus card he refused to take me home and instead decided to clock out and leave me with the bus companies problem. My parents wouldn’t pick up the phone and I spent about 3 hours until someone volunteered to drive me home. Luckily they were really nice and patient.

Poor kid! Glad he's ok.

the policy in my district was “if a child 10 and under does not have a adult at the home bus stop, they won’t drop the kid off. and my mom was a few mins late coming home with grocery’s. and i remember my 65yr old bus driver chilling with me talking about cars with my 8 year old self in the bus barn showing me around until my mom picked me up. plus he showed me the whole route. i’ll never forget that homie. forever live bus 42

Mrs Grandma is a glamorous queen !!

happened to me in middle school, long school day on the way home and slept on bus and missed my stop because of that and when I woke up, the bus was approaching the bus storage area which was in the next town. I think it was because I was sleeping so I slumped down and the seat is taller than me so that's why the driver didn't see me. fortunately when I woke up the driver saw me and because he had me for years on his bus and knows me well and knows my stop he was able to drive me with no problem back and even further dropped me off at my house. I do agree after every kid is supposedly off the bus the driver should walk through and check each seat but still cool to have a cool bus driver when this happened to me

I’m so glad he’s home safe, with everything that happens these days. I feel for the grandma so bad because it’s so hard trusting people with your kids.

That baby smart and thank God for two people that returned him.

This almost happened to me when I was in junior highschool. Me and my friend sleep during the whole road because we were so tired after having a really busy day as a committee in one of school event. Thankfully the driver assistant wake us up before our stop

Imagine not looking and walking the bus at the end of ur shift. U then open the emergency door.
That's just being lazy. Aren't the drivers trained?
And yeah, I was a school bus driver. My county had the strictest safety plan

No accountability that's the problem, drivers should ALWAYS CHECK THEIR BUSSES FOR KIDS THAT DIDNT GET OFF THE BUS FOR WHAT EVER REASON, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A REQUIREMENT AND PART OF THEIR SOP!!!!!

Thank God he’s safe.

OMG, that so happened to me when I was a child!!!and even worse for me my sister's knew that I had fallen asleep on the bus and didn't say a word to anybody!!! luckily in my case, as soon as the bus driver got the bus all the way back to her place, she heard my light snoring before she got off the bus and found me, otherwise I probably would have woken up on the bus alone and scared. Poor guy, I'm glad someone good found him and got him back home safe ♥️

This happened to me once on an international field trip. I wasn’t traumatized at all 🥲

Lawsuit!

I’m so glad he made it home safe.

There's an alarm system in the bus that requires the driver to walk to the back of the bus and push a button to deactivate it thus forcing a walk through to look for kids. Further, if you know your kids you know who got on and who got off, but this isn't possible if you're a substitute driver. However, there's no excuse for not physically checking the bus front to back before leaving at all times. Somehow this still happens now and then. Fortunately the child was unharmed. I'm sure that driver's fired.

I'm so glad this precious little boy is safe!!! How frightening!!
But ... it had been a few hours. Why did the school not notify his Grandma that he wasn't in class?!
And if the folks at the bus yard saw him get off the bus and wander off, why did they not call the police, or the school, or run after him and help him so he didn't get lost or hurt?! WHO was watching out for this child?! Yikes!!
Well, God was that's for sure.

Bus drivers are suppose to make a physical inspection of their vehicle 🙄

Sad situation, glad the kid’s okay. I remember my morning bus rides at 7am on the way to high school… cherished those bus naps

Thank God he made it home safe 💜

This happened to my brother and I before when I was in elementary. We feel asleep on the bus, I woke up first only to realize that everyone including the bus driver was gone. So I woke up my brother and he was also worried as we didn't know what to do, so I just told him to wait until someone comes. Eventually our bus driver came back from what I assume was lunch as he was eating something; he looked shocked to see us. Then he quickly asked us what happened and we told him that we feel asleep, so he started to radio the bus station saying he had us on board. They must have told him to drop us off at our bus stop because our family was waiting for us. So he did and sure enough they were all standing there (my uncle's, aunt, and grandma) looking extremely worried, while some were calling someone. We got off and they rushed to us asking us what happened and we told them. I still remember my grandma yelling at us for being so irresponsible which is honestly why I was really scared because I knew I would have to face my grandma. Lol

That's is so sad and thank God that he got home safe and sound!

Thank God none of the “What if’s” happened. Thank God good angels were able to help little one. Thank God that little boy was reunited with Grand Mom. Thankful Thankful 👍🏼Bus driver’s please check the bus before you go home.

Good glad he's ok

I thought school bus drivers were required to check the seats before leaving their bus... Jesus how could this happen??

Thank God the right people found him and helped him!! His guardian angel was working overtime that day!! 💖

This happened to me except the (public) bus didn't park, it just turned around, and I woke up halfway back to the city. I was in the front row too. The whole bus was a fresh set of people, it was so trippy!
The lady next to asked what's wrong and when hearing how far away I was supposed to stop she started shouting at the bus driver. Then the driver stopped an oncoming bus going back in my village's direction and paid him to bring me back.
Don't think I ever mentioned it to my mother because she would've blamed me for not waking up in time

This happened to me when I was in elementary school, the driver didn’t check the bus and I woke up as he was parking at the bus barn and he didn’t hear me when I said something and got off the bus, when I went to follow him I couldn’t find where he went so I had to walk around until I found 2 other drivers that were talking. I’m pretty sure this happens a lot more often than people think because I don’t think my dad was called or anything, I was just brought back to school 🤷‍♀️

GLORY BE TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER ❤️🗣HALLELUJAH AMEN

Thank god that he was safe. It was very lucky he was nearby.

Lord love his heart, that had to be terrifing for a little guy. Glad he got home safe

So did that bus not have an alarm in the back that goes off if you do not press it once turning the bus off? Whenever you turn the bus off that alarm goes off if you dont hit the button within a certain amount of time. That makes the bus driver walk to the back of the bus.

When my son was a little guy, I had a horrible fear of him riding the school bus, I thought it was " just me" overreacting.........but things like this do happen 😧

Thankfully he's safe and not missing.

LOL I did that once. I woke up and the bus driver just parked. He ended up driving me back home in the bus after he went and got permission. Great guy

Why is she wearing that skunk wig? 😒

I’ve been a school bus operator for the past 42 years while of course the driver should be RETRAINED there is a SEVERE Shortage of willing any able bus drivers which by the way is the reason that bus company s are hiring below average employees having said that the student is safe so stop grandstanding GRANDMA $$$$

damn how scary that grandmother is right u trust ur children are going to be safe. when things like this happen makes u question everyone

I always fall asleep on the bus I’m glad I have a friend who wakes me up before my stop

At least she gave up smoking, i just hope the 101 Dalmatians are ok

Scary!! Loving prayers of comfort for Marcus and his grandmother.

This happened to me when I was a kid. Fell asleep on the bus home and woke up in the bus barn just as it was getting dark.

Thank God those people lookd out for him 🙏

That’s terrible, total negligence. Glad Marcus is safe.

That’s inexcusable. Thank goodness the child was ok.
I drove a school bus for a while. At the beginning of the school year, at the end of my route I had one little five year old boy on the bus. He would not say one word to me. Just sat there quiet. So……I drove my entire route looking for the panic stricken mother…..I found her. She was late getting to the stop, and junior didn’t see her so he didn’t get off the bus. I had such a headache that night.

This is why there are bus attendants that are on the bus with the driver. Idk if the school has those there, but it’s good to look into.

That's so extremely sad 💔 thank god hes okay. Omg

Glad to here he safe and no harm thank God

Same thing happen to my son and his cousin, both 7yo… unknowing they slept in the bus riding home. But the bus driver caught his attention on the last stop our kids sleeping… he’d checked their bus route drop off, Im so nervous but I know our community is safe for kids… Thank God, they are safe and saw them going down the bus and told me that they both fell asleep 🙏

Omg thankfully he’s safe at home wow

Glad he’s safe ❤️

I agree with your grandma I am a mom of three kids spend one of my kid is a teenager and the rest of my kids are under nine years so I totally feel your pain

Thank God he's safe.

My granny been a bus driver for almost 40 years driving for Chicago public schools. And one thing she would never do is leave a child behind and not check her bus. She took all of us out to eat sometimes on her bus because we have a big family. Its sad someone was this careless.😢

I was once at a music festival with my friends and we got a shuttle pass as well. After the festival was over we’d get on the shuttle to get back to our hotel and as we got off the bus driver asked “Aren’t you missing someone?” They were right we didn’t notice at the time one of our friends was asleep on the bus. Super observant and helpful driver

This happened to me. I fell asleep on the way to school and missed my stop. I woke up just as the bus was pulling into the garage. Thankfully the bus driver noticed me and quickly drove me back to school.