Children stuck on bus after stop-sign arm breaks

Amy Winsor, of Morrisville, said she became worried when her son's Panther Creek High School bus was late. She found the No. 204 bus parked on Parkside Valley and Corsair drives.

Winsor said the bus driver told her "that the stop sign on the side of the bus did not work, and she could not let them (students) off the bus."

Since the bus driver was not able to use the stop-sign arm, the children were not able to use the door, the driver told Winsor.

"But that is really very silly,” Winsor said.

Winsor said her son was kept on the bus even though her house was three blocks away.

“It is against the law to carry students on a bus if the stop arm is not functioning, so the bus driver pulled over,” school system spokesman Greg Thomas said.

Thomas said school officials sent someone to repair the bus after being notified of the problem.

“Unfortunately, it took significantly longer than anticipated to fix that stop arm,” Thomas said.

Some students were allowed off the bus when their parents arrived and showed ID. However, Winsor said she remains concerned that some parents didn’t know why their children were not home on time.

"The school didn't call our homes, I know that,” she said.

Thomas said the safest place for the students at the time was on the bus, not on an unfamiliar street.

"Better safe than sorry,” he said.