Three Georgia adults face criminal charges after forcing their way onto a school bus to remove children they claimed had been locked inside by the driver for more than half an hour without air conditioning.
The incident unfolded at the Highland Trace Apartments in Lumpkin County — about an hour outside Atlanta — when a substitute school bus driver was dropping off children from Cottrell Elementary School on Monday, according to the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office
The driver, who has eight years of experience and was working the route for the first time, allowed students assigned to the first of two designated stops at the apartment complex to leave the bus, but instructed a student assigned to the second stop to return to the bus when they exited early, police said.
As the substitute driver tried to get the children on the bus to settle down so they could continue the route, parents approached the bus and demanded that more children be let off.
The driver tried to explain that those children were assigned to another stop and needed to stay seated so the bus could move on, but tensions only grew.
Parents then crowded outside the bus, speaking to the children through the windows, and the “student’s behavior escalated.”
As the situation grew out of control, the driver called the school for help, and another bus driver was sent to assist.
The students activated the emergency-release mechanism and adults boarded the bus and removed the children.
The adults accused the driver of holding the kids for more than 30 minutes without turning on the air conditioning.
However, investigators quickly determined those claims were false — and that the children onboard had been out of control before the bus even left school grounds.
The children were accused of “yelling, fighting, moving between seats, throwing objects, and refusing to follow instructions,” which forced school administrators and an assistant principal to board the bus on “multiple occasions.”
Video obtained by police from inside the bus showed those issues continued during the route.
Investigators found the children were on the bus for only 14 to 15 minutes before the second driver arrived — not the 30-plus minutes parents alleged.
There was no evidence the students were “intentionally held,” police said.
Police also found that the air conditioning had only been temporarily switched off while the bus climbed a steep portion of the route because it affected the performance of the gasoline-powered bus, and that the driver turned it back on before the confrontation with parents unfolded.
“The investigation found no evidence establishing that the driver intentionally withheld air conditioning as punishment, shut off the bus engine while the children were being held at the apartment complex, or ignored a clearly observable medical emergency,” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators also noted school policy requires students to stay seated, follow the driver’s instructions and exit only at their designated stops.
Police said they found no probable cause to charge the driver with a crime.
The sheriff’s office issued arrest warrants for three adults on Wednesday accused of entering the bus, disrupting its operation and aggressively confronting the driver.
One of the adults, April Michelle Disspain, was issued warrants for simple battery, disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office said.
Disspain allegedly forced her way onto the bus, made physical contact with the driver, removed multiple children and used profane language in front of the students.
Tony Ray Chastain was issued warrants for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct after investigators alleged he boarded the bus, yelled and cursed at the driver, demanded children be released and encouraged their unauthorized removal.
The third adult, Mariah Quinones, was issued a warrant for disrupting the operation of a public-school bus for allegedly boarding the bus and removing her child without authorization.
The investigation remains open, police said.
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