INDIANAPOLIS — Toney Cole was filled with fear and anxiety when her kindergarten-aged grandson was mistakenly placed on a bus after school earlier this week.
The child attends Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105 on the city's far east side.
“I was still awful angry at the school for doing that because I was angry and scared for my grandson because I know he was really scared,” Cole said.
The Cole family had signed the child up to be a car rider, meaning he should not have been on a bus.
“They brought him back to school about 4:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. I don't know who this woman was. I didn't even see her. He just come walking into the office, into the main office, she said.”
Cole noted that her grandson was on the bus for about two hours before he was finally reunited with his family.
“He just looked at me and kept saying, ‘Grandma, I told him not, and I wasn’t no bus rider,’” she recalled. “I kept telling her she wasn’t listening to me.”
Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) reported that officials recognized the error within minutes and had the student rerouted back to the school. An IPS spokesperson confirmed that the situation is under review, and appropriate actions are being taken to prevent a recurrence.
“I hugged him and I’m like, 'I’m so glad he was safe,'” Cole said.
Now, the Cole family hopes this incident doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I’m telling all these parents, watch your kids. Try to make sure that they get from and back to school, whatever way they get there,” she urged.
IPS tells WRTV that at no point during this incident was the student unsupervised.
Officials say the school administration has been in contact with the student’s family.
An IPS spokesperson adds that “The safety and well-being of our students — both at school and during transportation — remains our highest priority,”.
