NEW ORLEANS —
An 11-year-old student at Village de l'Est Einstein Charter School in New Orleans East was locked inside of a Scholars First school bus alone Wednesday afternoon after the 5th grader fell asleep on the ride home, according to the student’s mother, Pervella Gant.
“He woke up to an empty school bus with no driver, no students and the bus was locked,” Gant said. “He had to escape out of the bus through the emergency exit.”
Once he got out, Gant says her son found himself inside of a Scholars First bus lot in the 7th Ward, roughly 10 miles from his home.
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“Imagine an 11-year-old kid being locked inside of big school bus in a parking lot,” Gant said. “Anyone could have broken into that parking lot and took advantage of my child.”
Luckily, Gant had just bought her son a cell phone. She picked him up and he is alright, but she’s still livid.
“Tomorrow morning I will be at Einstein Charter School to see exactly why the bus driver left my son in the middle of the innercity by himself,” Gant said.
Gant also wants answers from Scholars First -- a company that has already been the subject of a number of investigative pieces by WWL-TV’s David Hammer.
“Whoever is over at Scholars First needs to do a thorough check on every driver and make sure they are responsible,” Gant said.
We reached out to Scholars First and Einstein Charter Schools, but it was after business hours and we haven't heard anything back.