On Friday, Sept. 7, a four-year-old boy left his Kingston elementary classroom and stepped onto the school bus. His father would be waiting for him at his usual dropoff area.
The young boy exited the school bus at the wrong stop leaving the child wandering around a foreign neighbourhood nearly a kilometre from his home.
The father, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Global News that his child was left at Sutherland Drive and Conacher Drive which is 650 metres from their family home. The child was reported crossing streets and talking to strangers who he thought was his grandmother.
After being lost for over 20 minutes, the kindergartener somehow managed to find his way home.
Global News reached out to the Limestone District School Board for an explanation and they said to contact the Tri-board bus service, which they, in turn, referred Global News to the school bus company called First Student based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
First Student told Global News that the driver called out a name that was similar to the young boy in question, which left the child at the wrong bus stop. The bus line says the driver is still getting to know his students but is an experienced employee.
The father of the four-year-old, says the Limestone board did apologize in writing but says their letter is not sufficient, as his son is still traumatized by the incident.
He continued by saying he hopes that the school board, tri-board, and the bus line can find a way to ensure this never happens again.