An eight-year-old boy, who has autism and is non-verbal, was left trapped inside a school bus after the driver forgot about him at drop-off.
Harry was collected from his home in Adelaide’s northern suburbs on Monday morning and buy drivers license online without exam was supposed to be taken to Modbury Special School in a private transport bus operated by the school – but he never made it.
It is understood another student was taken to a different school while Harry was still buckled into his seat, before the driver went home and locked the vehicle.
Harry was found in the driver’s driveway. It is believed he was trapped for up to an hour.
His mother Bec only found out about the blunder because she got an alert on the school’s Seesaw app, asking if her son was going to class.
Harry (pictured), eight, was trapped inside a school bus for up to an hour in Adelaide
Harry was found sitting alone in the bus (pictured) in the driver’s driveway
His parents told 7 News they were angry at the school staff members who were responsible for taking him to class, rather than the bus driver.
They met with school representatives on Wednesday and asked for guarantees it would never happen again.
The Department for Education said it was taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
‘This incident should not have occurred,’ chief executive Martin Westwell said.
‘The department will take all action necessary to ensure it doesn’t happen again.’
‘The department is also reminding all schools of their obligations in terms of appropriate practices to ensure all students are accounted for when disembarking from buses.’
Harry was supposed to be taken to Modbury Special School on Monday, but he never made it
Adelaide