School Bus Driver, Safety Monitors Fired After 4-Year-Old Boy Left Behind on Unattended Bus

A bus driver and safety monitors have been fired after a 4-year-old boy was accidentally left in an abandoned minibus in Rhode Island last week, officials said.

North Kingstown Superintendent Kenneth Duva said the student was "left unattended on a North Kingstown School Department bus after the driver and monitors completed their morning route."

In a police report obtained by PEOPLE, authorities said that the 4-year-old child, whose name was redacted, had been enrolled in a continued Pre-K school year summer program when he was left on a minibus on July 16. 

When the boy "did not come into the school, Fishing Cove Elementary Staff marked [him] absent and believed he did not come to school," police added.

The report said the school bus driver and monitor drove from the elementary school to the transportation parking lot, at which time the child was still on the back of the bus. 

Police said the boy was "able to exit the bus and was subsequently located by town employees at the Municipal Office Building a short distance away."

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Police said no criminal charges will be sought in the matter.

The superintendent said in a letter to the North Kingston school community on July 19 that the "troubling situation was both shocking and unacceptable and does not reflect the standards of safety and care we uphold throughout our District."

"The child was uninjured during this incident and was safely reunited with his family," his statement read. "This does not negate the distress this incident may have caused both the child and his family, understandably. We are deeply sorry this incident occurred."

The superintendent noted that the school district launched an internal investigation to determine what happened. A report was also filed with police and the state’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

PEOPLE has reached out to the superintendent and the DCYF for additional comment.

The superintendent went on to say that their investigation found that the bus driver and monitors "failed to follow our mandatory safety procedures." This included checking the bus upon route completion to ensure no child had been left behind, per Duva.

"As a result, we have terminated the bus driver and monitors responsible for this incident, he added. "The driver and monitors will not be allowed to work for our School Department, or any contractor our School Department works with, at any point now or in the future. Further, we are in the process of conducting a comprehensive review of our transportation protocols and procedures."

In addition, the superintendent wrote that bus drivers and bus monitors would face mandatory re-training. There will also be enhanced safety checks and technology safety additions.

"I understand this week’s incident may have disturbed the trust families place in our School Department," said Duva. "I am fully committed to restoring that trust through our actions and improvement steps."