STANSBURY PARK, Utah — Parents and students were on edge in a Stansbury Park neighborhood when a school bus failed to show up Wednesday after taking an unexpected detour.
The Tooele County School District blamed the incident involving Clark N. Johnson Junior High School students on a fill-in driver unfamiliar with the route. The driver made a wrong turn and became flustered, leaving students alarmed about getting to their stops.
The students were unaware that the driver was trying to contact the district for advice on what to do.
"[The bus] waited on the side of the road, and while they were waiting, some of the students were antsy, didn’t understand why they were waiting there, and wanted to get off the bus," explained district spokesperson Brett Valdez.
According to Valdez, some students raised their voices to the driver who followed safety protocol, telling students they couldn’t get off the bus, although some did by using the emergency exit.
Holly Huntsman is not pleased with how the school district handled the situation after her 12-year-old daughter called her hysterical over the chaos on the bus.
"The email that they sent out was really disappointing after your child was that traumatized," Huntsman said.
Valdez understands the frustrations of both students and parents.
"We get it," he said. "I think these are opportunities for us to learn on both sides, think there’s things that we can help with our bus drivers to understand that process. And even though they follow the process, to make sure they inform the students so they understand."
