Twice in one week, a Florida student with special needs was abandoned on the school bus and forced to hitchhike 30 miles home, officials say.
The 13-year-old fell asleep on the bus ride home from school. Surveillance video taken inside the bus shows driver Gale Brown joking while attendant Gwendolyn Simmons supposedly checks the seats, but walks right past the student.
The women leave the bus, and video surveillance captures the student waking up and finding himself alone. He then grabs his backpack, climbs on a seat, and escapes through a window.
Cops say he walked and hitchhiked 30 miles home.
According to Sheriff Grady Judd from the Polk County Sheriff's department, the student went to school the next day and told Simmons that they left him on the bus. Simmons did not believe him.
The student also didn't inform his family until the next day, Sheriff Judd said.
Just days later, the boy fell asleep on the ride home again, and the same driver left the bus. Video surveillance shows him getting up and peeking at the driver's seat before he squeezes the doors open and leaves the bus.
His mom realized what had happened when he missed his therapy appointment that afternoon.
"When we found out, I was just thankful that the student was safe," said Steven Whitaker, executive director of Our Children's Academy.
Read more: http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/15227-student-with-special-needs-left-on-school-bus-and-forced-to-hitchhike-30-miles-home