OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An Osceola County bus driver is being investigated after parents complain a form of punishment went too far.
This happened Thursday afternoon on the last day of school for Osceola County students. Students say the bus driver, Robert Brown, pulled over the bus to reprimand a student for making a mess. Students say they sat in the heat for about 20 minutes before they were dropped off.
Parents said the bus was delayed for more than 30 minutes, leaving parents waiting at the stop on Seven Dwarfs Lane in Kissimmee worried.
"Each of these kids are getting out the bus and they're crying and they're screaming 'mommy, mommy where's my mom'. I mean, it was chaos for these kids," said Courtney Gunter.
Video shot by a parent shows children between pre-K and fifth grade arriving in sweat and tears.
"To have your child call you, 'mom, come get me, he's holding us captive', that's heartwrenching for a mom to hear," said Gunter said.
"I said, what do you mean you're being held captive, she's like he's holding up we're on the side of the road, he's not letting us go. Yeah, that kind of freaks out a mom," said Gunter.
"Kids started crying cause they just wanted to go home," said 9-year-old Zara Gunter.
"He's sitting here yelling at us, clean it, clean it, clean it and if you don't clean it, I'm going to crash the bus. It makes no sense, like why would you do that," said Zara and Arianna Gunter.
Spokesperson for the Osceola County School District said, "The district has been made aware of the allegations, and the situation is now under investigation through our HR Department. As such, we are limited on what we can say since it is an active investigation. I can tell you that the driver's name is Robert Brown, and he started as a sub bus driver with us on August 29, 2011, and then became a full-time driver on November 28, 2011.
Our HR Department is reviewing the bus video. It is not available as it is part of an active personnel investigation at this time."
Gunter said she has complained a number of times to the district about Brown, even causing one of the students to film a bus trip in the past.
The Gunters met with district administrators on Friday.