CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A Douglas County school bus driver told Denver7 he was covering an unfamiliar route when he dropped off 40 children at the wrong stop in Castle Rock on Monday afternoon but recognized he "could have done better."
Several parents have accused the driver of kicking the children off of the bus. Irving Johnson, the man behind the wheel, said that's not true.
“It's been said in the media that some of the kids said I told them to get out of the bus, and that's not correct. I said nothing to them. I opened the door, and they knew that this was at least close to where they were supposed to get off, and they just were getting off," Johnson told Denver7 on Wednesday.
Johnson said he has been a bus driver with the Douglas County School District (DCSD) for the last seven years.
“I listen to classical music all the time, and it's a close choice between classical music and the sound of children in the bus. It's just wonderful," Johnson said about why he loves being a bus driver.
Castle Rock
Castle Rock school bus driver abandons more than 40 kids at wrong stop
In an email sent to families of Bus Route #253, DCSD Chief Operations Officer Rich Cosgrove did not identify Johnson but said the bus driver was covering the route that day.
Cosgrove said the driver stopped just short of the third stop in the 12-stop route, "leading to some confusion." He said the remaining 40 students exited the bus at that time "with many getting off at the wrong bus stop."
Johnson identified himself as the driver. He said he was working on an unfamiliar route that day and claimed many of the children were causing chaos.
"They got on the bus, and they were in an uproar," Johnson said. "They were all over the seats. They're not supposed to stand on the seats. They were all over the seats, standing on them, up on the rack, doing pull-ups on the overhead luggage rack. And so, you know, I knew I had a difficult challenge to deal with.”
Johnson told Denver7 that he directed the children to quiet down before he began driving.
"The ones in back weren't even listening. So, I got the kids maybe in the first five or six rows to quiet down and get in their seats and sit. And I walked down the aisle and spoke to the older kids in the back, and they persisted in talking. So I got a little louder, and they stopped talking as loudly, and they sat down because they had no choice. I was right there," Johnson explained. “I said, 'You know, I can be as tough as I need to be to get you to behave in the bus.'"
As the bus proceeded along the route, Johnson said the DCSD tablet that provides him with directions began malfunctioning.
“Let me make it clear to you that this was the first time I had driven that route in that direction, and so I was dependent upon the tablet to be clear on where I would go. And it was, you know, it was dusk. Little harder to read the street signs... I knew we had turned prematurely," Johnson said. "I saw the parents on the side of the road. I knew I was on the wrong side of the road, but because they were all there, I felt it was okay to stop there.”
Johnson said once at the third location, which was not the correct bus stop, all 40 children lined up to exit the bus. He was alarmed but claimed he was working to log which children departed the bus electronically, which he is required to do.
“Every route I've ever driven for more than a couple of weeks, I know all the children's names, and I know all the stops where they get on and off. I don't know any of these children, and I don't know which stops they get off. So even if I looked at them, I wouldn't know where they should go, and I have to rely upon their knowledge of where they're getting off," Johnson said. “I recognize I could have done better at that stop when the rest of the kids got off the bus. And it was bizarre for me, and I think I was really stunned by it and I didn't know what to do. This has never happened before. I've never, ever, had kids pile out of the bus and get off at a stop.”
Watch the full interview with Johnson in the video player below:
In the email to parents, Cosgrove said the driver should have notified DCSD transportation dispatch when this happened and did not follow protocol.
“When they were all off the bus, I was stunned and I was not thinking properly. But I'm yet accused of abandoning them. And from a parent standpoint, I can understand why they say that," Johnson said.
Johnson is no longer employed with the district.
“The district called me up today and said that I'm not to come back to work," Johnson said. "I said I'd much rather resign than be fired. I've never been fired in my life.”
Ultimately, Johnson believes the tablet system used by bus drivers in the school district contributed to what happened on Monday afternoon.
“The district decided to change to a different tablet and system about two months ago. And within a short period of time, as they were making adjustments to things, the tablets began to malfunction. If the tablet had worked as it should have, I would have taken the correct route and come down to that stop, and we would assume that the children who should get off at that stop would get off and scan out," Johnson said. “I told the kids — and it's on the tape — I said, 'The tablets not working.' I'm not making this up.”
In the email sent to parents, Cosgrove said the video of what happened on the bus will not be released at this time since the incident is being investigated by the Castle Rock Police Department.
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