Probe begins into how student was left on bus

KENNETT SQUARE » Police and school officials are working to determine how a 7-year-old student was left on a bus for more than five hours unattended late last month.

The student was left on a Krapf Bus Co.-owned bus. Krapf is Kennett Consolidated School District’s private transportation contractor. The student was unharmed.

A letter was sent home to all parents is the district on Monday, explaining that the incident was isolated and school officials value the “safety and security of each student.”

According to the letter, the incident took place about 8:30 a.m. March 31 on a Krapf Bus Co. yellow school van. The student was the only passenger to board the

bus. The school bus driver’s sole responsibility that day was to pick up the student in the morning and then, about 3 p.m., drive the student home from school, ac- cording to the letter.

Unfortunately, the driver instead drove the van to Krapf’s Kennett Square depot, parked, and never realized until more than five hours later that he had left the student onboard.

“Clearly, the driver, who had the necessary childcheck clearances, violated Krapf’s rules requiring the vehicle to be checked for passengers before and after use,” the letter stated. “He also failed to demonstrate any common sense and rest assured will never again transport a KCSD student. The student was only discovered after the District, following a conversation with the student’s mother, alerted Krapf. Words cannot express our level of dismay and disgust when learning what happened. We have directed Krapf to reinstruct all operators regarding their responsibilities for our children, and we will defer to the authorities regarding any actions they may take. Internally, we are reviewing our absence-from-school notification procedures to see what could have been handled differently.”

Both district officials and Krapf Bus. Co. officials will not comment on the situation until the investigation is completed. The letter to parents called the situation “troubling.”

Krapf Bus. Co. has been transporting students since 1942. The company has developed into one of the largest family owned and operated transportation companies in the nation. Krapf Bus Co. currently transports more than 72,000 students over 800 routes a day.

VINNY TENNIS — DAILY LOCAL NEWS A Krapf Bus Co. bus is parked in a lot at West Chester University.