The Victor Central School District is responding to an incident that happened during a school bus drop off in a Farmington neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. A parent recorded everything on video as it unfolded and sent it to Spectrum News. That video has gone viral on social media.
Many of the parents involved say they are upset about what took place.
The video shows a school bus stopped at an apartment complex. The doors of the bus are closed and no students are getting off. It’s then that parents can be heard yelling and asking for the driver to let their children off the bus.
“I went and knocked on the door at first. No one answered. I went down to the emergency door to talk to a student, or anyone I could reach, and the bus driver told me not to open the door again,” said Tea Bellis, a parent. “We heard them screaming, crying and banging on the windows."
"That’s when us as parents said okay that’s enough. Open the doors and give us our children," said another parent.
The New York State Police are investigating the incident saying there were students in kindergarten through eighth grade on the bus. Police say the students were misbehaving and being unruly to the bus driver and an aide. They did not say why the bus driver wouldn't open the door.
A few minutes later the driver steps off the bus to tell parents that the police are on their way. Seconds later a state trooper arrives and gets on the bus with the driver. Eventually students were allowed off the bus and they can be seen crying as they were reunited with their parents.
“To this day I still don’t know what’s going on. What happened,” said Bellis
“Darren Everhart pulled up with two other troopers. They handled the situation as best they could. Got the children off the bus. My daughter was in tears. She was so upset,” Bellis said.
While some parents felt comfortable sending their children to school on the morning bus on Wednesday with a different driver, others say they won't be allowing them to take the afternoon bus home.
The incident has led to a flood of comments on social media. Many parents are furious that children were held on the bus. Others wanted to know whether the bus driver followed protocol and whether calling the police to get the kids to calm down was necessary.
State police are continuing to investigate and no charges have been filed at this time.