WESTON, Fla. – In December, 3-year-old Thiago Garcia was supposed to arrive at Indian Trace Elementary School at 7:15 a.m. Instead, he got there at 9:15, having been left alone on a Broward County school bus for two hours, his parents tell Local 10 News.
Now they want answers as to why their son spent all of that time without being watched — and they say they’re not getting them.
His father, Jorge Garcia, said he got a call about the late arrival at the Weston school on Dec. 19 and no one could give him a clear answer as to what happened.
“As a parent, I called the police, I took him to the hospital,” he told Local 10 News in Spanish.
Garcia said he feared the worst, but, fortunately, his son was OK.
On Wednesday, Garcia and his wife, Anacelli Huerta, met with the school’s principal and the district’s transportation department. They said that there’s video of the incident that the district refuses to show them.
“They don’t want to show it because of the kids who were there,” Garcia said.
Huerta wants to know what the video shows.
“I imagine the worst because you don’t want me to see it,” she said.
The two want answers: Who found him? Who noticed he was missing? What happened?
Local 10 News contacted Broward County Public Schools seeking those answers.
The district responded in a statement:
“The District’s Student Transportation and Fleet Services Department is investigating this situation and will take any appropriate disciplinary measures for the employees involved. The student, who had fallen asleep on the bus, was discovered by a bus aide as the bus reached its next stop. The bus driver and aide immediately contacted Indian Trace Elementary School and notified administrators they were bringing the student back to the school. The principal notified the student’s parents about the situation and remains in communication with them. At all times, student safety is the highest priority. Both the Student Transportation Department and the school’s leadership are reviewing their protocols to prevent any similar situations in the future.”
Broward County Public Schools statement