A Beausejour-area father says his six-year-old daughter found herself in an emergency situation Wednesday morning.
Steve Jeffery says his daughter Sydnee was en route to classes in Beausejour when she told the driver she wasn't feeling well.
Jeffery says the driver dropped her off at the home of a stranger in a village 10 minutes north of Beausejour, instead of taking the six-year-old to school with the rest of the children.
"Why was she dropped off there? And there (are) public nurses there at the school. They said they don't understand why the bus driver dropped her off at a stranger's house," says Jeffery.
Sydnee fortunately remembered her home number and called her family, he said.
"Well, I was shocked. A six-year-old little girl – we're lucky she knew her phone number," says Jeffery.
The school division says the bus driver in this case has been suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation. That is expected to be completed by late Monday.
Jeffery says he's upset by the incident, but is grateful the woman who was tasked with looking after his daughter helped her phone home.
"She knows that she's not supposed to go to a stranger's house, but what do you do when the school bus (driver) tells her it's okay?" asks Jeffery.
The school division says it wasn't sure if the driver received his suspension notification before his morning route Thursday.
Jeffery said he refused to put his daughter on the bus Thursday to avoid taking any chances.
"They wanted her to go on the same bus route with the guy and I don't trust him, so why would I send my little girl with someone you don't trust?" asks Jeffery.
The Sunrise School Division would not say how long the bus driver had been working for the division, or what penalties he may face if the allegations are true.
- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele
