Portsmouth preschooler found on bus after his stop

PORTSMOUTH

A 4-year-old remained on a school bus after his stop and later was discovered asleep in a seat by the driver Monday, a school spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The child is a student at Olive Branch Preschool Center and was found by the driver while checking the bus at the end of the shift, Maureen Mizelle said. She reported the following sequence of events:

The driver, whom school officials would not identify, was following procedure by walking through the bus at the end of her shift.

A little before 4:40 p.m., the driver called to report the student on the bus, and about 4:40 p.m., the division's transportation office was notified by Olive Branch's principal that a parent came to the school looking for that same child.

The driver drove the child to his school, where he was reunited with his mother.

A story posted on WVEC's website reported the child's mother waited at the bus stop before she was told by a neighbor that the bus already had passed by.

Mizelle said it was not apparent to the driver that the youngster was still on the bus because an adult was not at the stop to meet him.

"We cannot release a 4-year-old from the bus unless there is an authorized adult at the stop to pick the child up," she said.

Mizelle said the driver's status won't be released because it's a personnel matter.

The incident is being investigated.