Darielle and Makani Lugo (Family provided photo)
The Egg Harbor Township School District is investigating after a preschooler was left alone on a school bus for hours Tuesday.
Miguel Lugo put his 4-year-old daughter on the bus to Bargaintown Preschool just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, and then headed off to buy supplies for a holiday party in the little girl’s class later that day.
“He got to school at 2, only to be told she never made it to school,” the girl’s mom, Darielle Lugo, told BreakingAC.
That’s when the panic began.
At the school, they asked Miguel Lugo if he was sure he put his daughter on the bus.
Meanwhile, a search was conducted at transportation on Swift Drive.
Makani Lugo was found in the back of her school bus parked about 10 minutes from her school.
“She was crying, hysterical and cold,” Darielle Lugo said. “She hadn’t eaten.”
She was taken to her waiting father, who rushed her to the doctor to check her out.
"Regretfully a preschool student was unintentionally left on the school bus yesterday after the morning route,” Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Gruccio said in a statement to BreakingAC. “An employee discovered the student on the bus later in the day, and immediate action was taken to assist the student and the student’s parents were notified and reunited with their child.
“Appropriate authorities were contacted and, while an investigation is ongoing, this type of mistake is unacceptable, and the employees involved are no longer employed in the district,” she continued. “The district cannot comment further except to say that our hearts go out to this family, and as a district we will continue to focus on student safety remaining our number one priority."
Makani did not go to school Wednesday, scared to go back on the bus.
Darielle Lugo does not understand how neither the driver nor the assigned bus aide would have seen her daughter. She also questioned why she was not notified by the school that Makani was not in class.
Normally, the district sends out an automated call to parents when a student is absent, but Lugo said she never received one.
She also had been in contact with the girl’s teacher throughout the day to let her know that her husband would be going to the class party, since she was unable to get out of work.
The teacher never mentioned Makani was not in school.
Lugo confirmed that an investigation is ongoing, saying someone came to her home to talk to them.
Video inside the bus shows the student next to Makani try to nudge the sleeping child when they were supposed to get off the bus, the investigator told Lugo. The student also notified someone, but apparently someone else got on the bus, and the girl was forgotten.
The video shuts off when the bus is turned off, so nothing is shown during that time.
Makani was doing better Wednesday, said her mother, who is hoping things will be back to normal.
The family went to police, but were told it would be a civil matter.
They have consulted with an attorney. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
