A school bus driver is facing 30 counts of child abuse after he allegedly slammed on the brakes to teach elementary school kids a lesson about staying in their seats.
Camera images from the bus show that some young people are thrown into the seats in front of them after the driver suddenly appears to brake.
Replacement bus driver Brian Fitzgerald had recently begun driving to the Douglas County School District when the incident occurred on the afternoon of March 1.
The 61-year-old was transporting Castle Rock Elementary students ranging from kindergarten through 6th grade home from school at 3:45 p.m.
Fitzgerald now faces 30 counts of child abuse, including one count of child abuse with bodily harm, for his actions.
CCTV footage from the bus shows Fitzgerald sternly telling students to stay in their seats before saying, “You want to see how dangerous that is?”
Seconds later, the driver suddenly appears to slam on the brakes, throwing several children into the seats in front of them.
The CCTV footage confirms that he was traveling at 15 kilometers per hour when he suddenly stopped.
Fitzgerald then said, “Do you understand? Therefore, you must sit in your place. Turn around and have a good seat.’
Some of the kids seemed upset by the incident, one saying ‘Oh my god’ and another saying ‘Why did he do that? Are you OK?’
The footage even shows a child picking up a cell phone and calling and saying, “The bus driver slammed on the brakes, and someone got hurt so badly and is bleeding on the cheek, so to speak.”
At a stop later on the route, a parent can be seen talking to the driver about what happened.
“Is she okay?” Fitzgerald asked the parent.
‘Yes, she was hurt. Maybe ease on the brakes,’ the parent replied.
“They were bouncing all over the place and I came to a stop, and I hit the brakes hard because they were running all over the place,” Fitzgerald replied.
Lauren Thomason, a parent of one of the students on the bus, told me KRDO that she was “terrified” by the incident.
My son came yanking through the door that afternoon,” she said. “He sprinted all the way home. He was breathless and red-faced and absolutely sobbing and shaking. He was terrified.’
She said she was particularly concerned because her son had suffered a concussion a few weeks earlier.
“I know not all the kids on the bus had concussions, but I immediately thought, okay, do we need to go to the emergency room? What is going on? Who is this person? This is not the ordinary bus driver,” she added.
The concerned mother added that she is preparing to testify for her son when Fitzgerald’s criminal case goes to trial.
Parent Lauren Thomason said she was “terrified” by the March incident
Replacement bus driver Brian Fitzgerald had recently started driving for the district
An internal district investigation found that Fitzgerald was taking “the student brake test.”
Fitzgerald expressed concerns about a ‘pattern of inappropriate student management’
A spokesman for the Douglas County School District confirmed that he no longer works for the district
In a letter to the Douglas County School District dated March 1, obtained by KRDO, Fitzgerald apologized but expressed concerns about “a repeating historical pattern of inappropriate student management.”
He wrote, “I am sincerely sorry for my choice of actions today in my efforts to educate students. I am still 100% responsible for my actions in teaching and supervising students on the bus. As a new driver I didn’t make the best decision and if I could do what I did again I would reconsider my decisions.”
Douglas County Schools records show that the district investigated the incident and determined that “it is clear that the driver braked the students.”
A spokesman for the Douglas County School District confirmed to DailyMail.com that he no longer works for the district.
Information officer Paula Hans: ‘The video is incredibly difficult to watch. Riding the bus to and from school should be a fun, enjoyable experience for students. The behavior and actions of this bus driver are totally unacceptable.
“We are extremely grateful to the parents and principal who reported this incident, which enabled us to take prompt action and ensure that this driver was never allowed to drive a DCSD bus again.”
On April 12, a felony charge was filed against Fitzgerald. He will appear in court for the first time on May 12.