Driver leaves 4-year-old sleeping in school bus

A Ouachita Parish school bus driver has been suspended indefinitely with pay after a sleeping 4-year-old was left on his bus.

Skeeter Body, transportation supervisor for the parish school system, confirmed Thursday that the bus driver failed to notice the 4-year-old kindergartner from Riser Elementary who got on the wrong bus at the end of the school day Wednesday.

The child was asleep on the bus when the driver finished the route and went unnoticed. Boyd said the bus driver did not perform a post-trip check, which is part of the routine and covered during training.

"The bus driver failed to do it, and the child was left on the bus for 30 minutes," Boyd said. He said the child was unharmed.

Boyd said the incident and the driver's record will be reviewed by the system's Transportation Advisory Committee, which will determine what discipline the driver might face.

Follow The News-Star on Twitter @TheNewsStar.