The driver of a bus which an autistic man was left alone on was charged with a felony count of dependent adult abuse. The young man was found on the floor of a parked bus which had all of the windows closed and the temperature was near 90 degrees that day.
The young man rode the bus to a transition program around 8:30 a.m. that morning and should have boarded it to return home by 4 p.m. The young man could not communicate verbally and needed special care. When he didn’t return home on time, his mother called which lead to the discovery of his body by the driver.
The driver believed the young man had exited the bus to go to school that morning, but he never checked see if anyone was left in the vehicle. He returned the bus to the bus yard, completed the necessary paperwork and went home. When he returned for work that afternoon, when he was informed by a dispatcher that the young man was missing. The driver went back to the bus and found the unresponsive young man. The young man was pronounced dead at the scene by EMTs.
The parents of the young man have also filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against the against the transportation company.