A Brant County resident has been charged with careless driving after a five-year-old boy got caught between school bus doors and was dragged several feet.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say the incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. on Nov. 1 in Mount Pleasant, Brant County.
“The bus travelled 15 to 20 feet with the child’s legs dangling outside the bus before it stopped,” OPP spokesperson Const. Conrad Vitalis said in a media release.
The 64-year-old driver has been charged in connection with the incident, which was caught on a home surveillance camera.
CHCH News spoke last week with the boy’s father, Derek Tappen, about the scary situation.
“My first son got off just fine. My second son, William, put his feet on the ground, at which time the doors wrapped in around him, trapping him, getting to the bottom step. I started yelling and screaming for the bus to stop,” Tappen said.
The five-year-old boy only suffered minor injuries, however, Tappen says he has to drive his son to school now because he refuses to use the bus.
An investigation by the Grand Erie District School Board and the bus company, Voyago, determined the bus was operating properly.
Tappen said he would like to see sensors installed on school bus doors to prevent the incident from happening again.
