NYC school bus driver leaves six special-education children stranded for over four hours
Six nonverbal special-education students were left on a New York City bus for almost five hours after the driver failed to deliver them to school, and one child was found wet with urine.
On Dec. 16, 2025, Eric Chery, a driver for Consolidated Bus Transit, failed to complete the morning drop-off of six nonverbal special-education students at PS 289 in Crown Heights, arriving nearly five hours late at 1:25 p.m. The school contacted the contractor around 10 a.m. but received no response, and a dispatcher later reported the driver was lost, though he never arrived. GPS records indicated the bus was outside a student's residence at 10:59 a.m., contradicting the driver’s claim that all children were picked up by 10 a.m. A mother’s backpack trackers showed the bus roaming across Brooklyn.
Upon arrival, staff found one child had wet herself, removed her diaper and leggings, and was lying on the floor soaked. Bus matron Germina Thomas, with two decades of experience, admitted she neither spoke with the driver nor sought help from the school or depot. The NYPD is investigating, and councilmember Gale Brewer noted that such bus delays are common, citing prior hearings and reports. The Special Commissioner of Investigation Anastasia Coleman called the incident “highly disturbing” for vulnerable students.
Why it matters
It highlights serious safety lapses in transporting vulnerable special-education children on public school buses.
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