School bus driver facing assault charge

A 82-year-old SheffieldSheffield Lake Schools bus driver is facing an assault charge stemming from an Aug. 29 incident.

Robert Schmidt, of Lorain, is accused of slapping a 57-year-old Sheffield Village resident, according to Sheffield Village police Chief Larry Bliss.

Around 4:30 p.m., Schmidt was dropping off a group of children on Parkhurst Drive when a resident pointed out to Schmidt that he did not have his red flashing lights on, Bliss said.

At that point, Schmidt allegedly flipped off the resident while cursing at him, he said.

The victim then walked closer to the bus and Schmidt reached out the side of the window and slapped him, Bliss said.

Schmidt is scheduled to appear in Avon Lake Municipal Court on 8:30 a.m., Sept. 6.

Sheffield-Sheffield Lake Schools Superintendent Michael Cook said Schmidt was immediately relieved of his duties following the incident, but an investigation is underway.

“Although the police are doing an investigation, we still have to have our own investigation into the incident,” Cook said.

The resident has complained to the schools before about Schmidt not using his lights, Cook said.

“We have no way of proving Schmidt did not use his lights in the past,” he said. “We did talk to him about the situation with hopes of this not happening again. But apparently it did not get better.”

Cook said the district is working to build a bridge in the community and its unfortunate this event took place.

“With this incident, we plan to work with current bus drivers to make sure this does not happening again,” he said. “All of our drivers are trained. But reenforcing procedures will not hurt.”