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Missing girl was left on school bus — now the driver is fired, Pennsylvania district says

A driver was fired after a girl didn’t get off a school bus, Pennsylvania officials said.
A driver was fired after a girl didn’t get off a school bus, Pennsylvania officials said. Miami Herald file

A missing girl didn’t get off her school bus — and now the driver is out of a job, Pennsylvania officials said.

The elementary school student’s parents reported her missing Oct. 28 after she didn’t show up at a bus stop with her siblings, Pittsburgh Public Schools said in a news release.

The girl, a student at Pittsburgh Beechwood school, “had apparently fallen asleep on the bus,” WPXI reported.

Several hours after she disappeared, she was found alone at at the W.L. Roenigk bus garage in McKees Rocks, outside of Pittsburgh, WTAE reported.

The driver, who worked for W.L. Roenigk, was fired, the district said. Officials also made a report to ChildLine, a program that handles child abuse and well-being concerns.

“That’s an inexcusable offense with our company,” bus company general manager Josh Orris told WTAE. “It’s posted all over all of our offices; it’s in our driver handbook. Child check is the utmost importance, and it’s not something that can be taken lightly.”

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This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Missing girl was left on school bus — now the driver is fired, Pennsylvania district says."

Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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