FORT MYERS, Fla.,- A Lee County School District bus driver has been fired after dropping off a five year old boy at a convenience store instead of a day care.
That boy was left alone along US 41 in Fort Myers despite pleas from other kids on the bus that it was the wrong stop.
Lela Federick, the mother of five year old Cornelius Federick Jr., tells Fox 4 the news made her heart sink. "I cried all day yesterday. I held my son all night last night balling my eyes out."
Her son was originally supposed to be dropped off at Challenged Minds Day Care after school. But when he didn't show up to the day care, the owner went looking for the boy, finding him minutes later.
"I know that seconds count so I wanted to be sure that I could find him right away," said Patricia Dominguez, a co-owner of Challenged Minds.
Lela Federick believes there shouldn't have been any misunderstanding, "The paper that was handed directly to her, hand from hand from his kindergarten says Challenged Minds. Everything is represented for him to go to that day care."
Fox4 reached out to the Lee County School District to get answers for the family. In a statement, a spokeswoman tells us, "As of this morning that driver is no longer an employee of the district...Safety and security of our students is the district's highest priority."
Federick says she is relieved that her boy is okay. However, she hopes now the school district will do a better job at vetting who they decide to hire so that this never happens again.
