- A bus driver was charged with kidnapping and child abuse after refusing to let children off
- Thomas Young, 68, told Tulsa, Oklahoma, schoolchildren to ‘sit down’ after begging to be released
- After Young said, “You’re not going with your mother,” the youths began jumping out of the exit
A school bus driver has been charged with kidnapping after telling children to “sit down” and “you’re not going with your mother” as students begged him to let them go.
Thomas Young, 68, was charged with child abuse and kidnapping after he refused to let children get off the bus he was riding last Friday.
Young worked as a driver in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Broken Arrow Public Schools. He was driving the children home from school when an incident occurred.
Video footage obtained by Fox 23 showed the moment when the bus driver refused to let the schoolchildren out.
A student is heard asking “Can I get off sir?”, to which Young responds, “No. I don’t care if your mother is there. Makes no difference to me. You’re not going with your mother.’
Thomas Young, 68, was charged with child abuse and kidnapping after refusing to let children get off the bus he was riding last Friday
Young worked as a driver in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Broken Arrow Public Schools. He was driving the children home from school when an incident occurred
The school district said Young was driving a new route, which could have caused his stress and short temper.
Students reportedly fell behind at pick-up and complained about being on the bus for “40 minutes.”
He told the students, “I don’t care. Sit down. I’m not giving in.’
As the frustrated children began to complain and cause chaos on the bus, Young said, “I drive my bus a certain way. I don’t care what the other bus drivers do. You obey me.’
The drama continued as students began shouting, wailing and banging on the doors. At that point, Young said, “I don’t care if they get violent and break the windows.”
Bystanders reported seeing the students jump out of the exit and Young eventually drove into the parking lot to let the children out.
Young was charged with child molestation and kidnapping and was reportedly fired as a bus driver.
Video footage showed the moment the bus driver refused to let the schoolchildren out. A student is heard asking “Can I get off sir?”, to which Young responds, “No. I don’t care if your mother is there. Makes no difference to me. You’re not going with your mother.”
The school district said Young was driving a new route, which could have caused his stress and short temper. Students reportedly fell behind at pick-up and complained about being on the bus for “40 minutes.” He told the students, “I don’t care. Sit down. I won’t give in’
The kidnapping charge stemmed from the district’s policy regarding parental access to students in situations like the one during Young’s bus trip.
Before Young was charged, he was being held on a $60,000 bond in the Tulsa County Jail.
A spokesperson for the school district told Fox 23 that Young had worked for the district for a year.
Captain Josh McCoy of the Broken Arrows Police Department said, “The holding of the children against their will and the fact that those children jumped out of the school bus as it continued to travel east, even at a slow speed, endangered them and put them in a dangerous situation. situation.’