Parents of two Keller ISD students want answers after they say their children were left behind on a school bus for about seven hours this week before anyone realized.
Sanjeeve Neupane of Fort Worth is the father of a 5-year-old who will begin kindergarten this fall at Keller ISD. This week, Neupane’s daughter was set to begin a summer school program at Basswood Elementary.
Neupane recalls dropping off his daughter at Sunset Valley Elementary around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, where parents were instructed to meet the school bus. The bus was supposed to take his daughter and other students to Basswood by around 8 a.m., Neupane said.
He got a call around 2 p.m. and was told his daughter was involved in an ‘accident.'
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“My thinking when they said it was an accident, was it was normal. Like, they peed. That was the first thing on my mind,” he said.
Instead, he and his wife rushed to a bus barn on Alta Vista Road in Fort Worth where their daughter was located.
“There were paramedics. There were police officers. She [daughter] was sweating and everything,” he said. “I don’t have any words to say. It’s like a nightmare for any parent. You think your child is going to be safe at their school. You end up somewhere picking up your child. It doesn’t make any sense.”
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His daughter wasn’t alone. On the bus with her was Ansam Dinha’s 5-year-old daughter, who was also supposed to be taken to Basswood Elementary for the same summer school program.
“I tried to talk to her, and I guess that’s what happened maybe. For her, maybe she fell asleep. Maybe she didn’t see the other kids going down off the bus,” Dinha said. “She was red all over, unfortunately. Wet. She was like, shaking from the cold [water] because they wet her. Every time you think about that, my heart felt distress."
Neupane said he is not sure why his daughter didn’t get off the bus, as well. He said it was possible she was confused, thinking she was supposed to be dropped off at the school she just attended pre-kindergarten.
“Around 2 p.m., they were waving their hands. Somebody was passing, that’s how they found out,” he said, describing how an adult was eventually able to find the two girls.
In a statement Friday, Keller ISD said the district was aware of the incident and had been in communication with the transportation vendor to ensure the situation is being properly addressed and that the appropriate actions are taken, so it doesn’t happen again.
“We are thankful that, in this situation, both students were found to be unharmed after being examined by medical responders. However, Keller ISD families daily entrust us with the safety of their children, and the failure to follow basic procedures in this situation is inexcusable,” the statement to NBC 5 read.
Dinha said she feels the situation could have been handled differently had someone simply checked the bus before leaving.
“My message is when you take kids from their parents, make sure that they are in safe hands. They are with the person who’s responsible for this child. Please,” she said. “Always, I say thank you, God. I saw my daughter again. She’s OK. She’s in my hand again. I hope that never happens again. I’m thinking how I’m going to let her go to school again.”
Fort Worth police responded to the incident on Wednesday. A department spokesperson said it is too early to tell whether any potential charges will be filed.
