A 55-year-old bus driver in Derby, CT was charged with 30 counts of risk of injury to minors and numerous driving offenses after children document their sleeping driver in a series of photos. You can see the photos here.
During the terrifying ride, many students contacted their parents to alert them that their driver, Paul Pixley, had apparently fallen asleep. Many students also took photos of their driver to share with their family the peril they were in.
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According to the police report from the Shelton Police Department, they pulled the school bus over after numerous reports for its reckless driving. At the time of the traffic stop, no children were found on board, but it was estimated to have previously been carrying 30 students.
A representative of the Landmark Transportation company arrived to safely drive the empty bus to a different location after Pixley was detained.
During the journey, Vienna DiPiave got a call from her daughter Siena who was detailing the horrifying journey. When speaking with NBC New York, DiPave recalled “She was like, ‘Mom, our bus is going to crash.’” DiPiave added, “She goes, ‘Our bus driver’s falling asleep.’”
Siena was desperate for help, sending her mom the text message, “Hurry I’m really scared.”
Mrs. DiPave took to Facebook to share the horrifying experience with fellow parents, as well as shared photos of the frantic text message conversation she was having with her daughter.
“How does this happen????” posted. “As a parent with a kid on that bus, i want to know why and i will make it a point to have whoever is responsible for putting him behind the wheel, placing not just my children at risk but everyone on the road with this man removed permanently from their position!!!!!”
In hopes of helping her daughter, DiPave attempted to reach out to the superintendent of the school system to relay the situation’s severity, only to be placed on hold, transferred to a secretary, and being required to leave a message.
Instead, DiPave insisted her daughter call 9-1-1 to report the situation as an emergency.
Pixley was hired as a bus driver in early December and has already been involved in a collision while driving.
The Shelton Public School District has sent out a letter to parents ensuring that Pixley will never drive one of their buses again.
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[H/T Daily Mail/NBC New York]
