Mesa bus driver holds kids hostage, parents say

A Mesa school bus driver taking children to Fremont Junior High School halted her vehicle at a bus stop Friday morning and refused to proceed or let students off — even as parents pounded on the doors.

VIDEO: Watch Tribune reporter Nicole Beyer talking to parents and students at the scene

Maricopa County sheriff’s detective Aaron Douglas said the driver was upset because she thought several students were acting unruly.

The incident involved about 25 to 30 students, and at least one parent called the episode a hostage situation.

“Parents were pounding on the doors screaming, and she would not let them off,” said Stephani Browning, who had one child on the bus and a close family friend. “That’s where my son gets on and off the bus every day. Why wouldn’t she let them go?”

Douglas said several students aboard the bus used their cell phones to call their parents, and some students used the emergency exit to get off after the driver refused to proceed to the school or open the doors.

He said tension on the bus started Thursday, when the driver stopped the vehicle several times on the way home from school and told her passengers they were being unruly. Douglas did not elaborate on the behavior of the students.

He said the driver told the students on Thursday that they should get off the bus if they did not want to be there. He said the driver halted the bus again Friday morning without leaving the bus stop at 96th Street and Broadway Road on county land near east Mesa.

Douglas said the driver told students again on Friday that they should not ride the bus if they would rather be with a parent.

Students on the route said concerns about the bus driver started long before Thursday, and some parents had filed complaints with the district that went ignored. Students said nearly everyone aboard the bus eventually stood up to get off Friday morning, but the driver would not open the doors.

Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman Kathy Bareiss said district policy prohibits bus drivers from dropping students off before they reach their destination. She said the bus driver, who was not identified, has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation into the incident.

Bareiss said the bus was equipped with a surveillance camera, but no tape was available of the incident. She did not know if the camera was broken or if it was turned off for other reasons.

Browning's son, Chaz Huber, said the driver closed the doors after the students got on the bus and started yelling at them. Chaz and other students said the driver touched the camera or did something with the camera before she started scolding them Friday morning.

Chaz said the driver, who has been on the route about one or two months, halted the bus about 10 times on Thursday and yelled at the students each time. Parents said their children came home late on Thursday.

Browning said the bus driver called the sheriff’s office Friday morning to report “unruly” students. She said the driver did not open the doors until deputies arrived.

Some parents acknowledged that junior high school students can get unruly on a bus and create difficult driving conditions.

“There’s always a few bad apples in the bunch,” said Suzanne Cook, who had a child aboard.

Browning agreed, but she said that would not excuse the driver’s behavior.

“That’s no excuse for holding them hostage like this,” she said.

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Tribune writer Jenn Korducki contributed to this report.