Peggie Mitchell said she was “devastated” to learn that her granddaughter Khloe didn’t make to school by bus that morning. (FOX 5 Atlanta / video screenshot)
Instead, Mitchell received a call from her granddaughter’s teacher explaining that the 6-year-old had just been walked into school by another employee.
“[The teacher] called and she asked, ‘How did [Khloe] get to school?’ and I told her, ‘On the school bus,” Mitchell told FOX 5 Atlanta.
“‘I placed her on the school bus myself.’ And then she said, ‘I’m sorry, somebody just walked her into the school.’ ”
It turns out little Khoe had fallen asleep in her seat, and her bus driver was unaware she was still on board after failing to check for any remaining passengers once arriving at the school in the suburban Atlanta community of Panthersville. The driver then drove to Mickey D’s for a bite to eat, where the young girl awoke to find herself in the empty bus. That’s when she got off and started roaming the roadway in an effort to make it to school.
“I was devastated,” Mitchell said of the moment Khloe’s teacher called with the shocking news. “She could’ve been killed or kidnapped.”
“We need to take better care of our kids,” she added.
Thankfully, another Flat Shoals Elementary teacher who was on her way to work spotted the little girl and quickly intervened.
The school district said the incident is now under investigation.
“The employee responsible has been removed from duty while a full investigation is completed,” a DeKalb County Schools spokesman told FOX 5 Atlanta. “The district will strongly reemphasize to our drivers our expectations for student safety, as well as the penalties for failing to meet that standard.”
Watch more in the video below.