Fall River woman cited for leaving 5 year old boy in van

SOMERSET — Chief George McNeil reports that a bus driver has been cited after allegedly leaving a 5-year-old boy in the back of a transport van Monday afternoon.

A 60 year old Fall River woman was issued a civil citation for Failure to Inspect a Vehicle After Transporting Students following an investigation by Somerset Police.

At approximately 4:45 p.m. Monday, May 6, a mother came into the Somerset Police Department to report that the driver of her child’s transport van left the boy in the van instead of dropping him off at his destination earlier in the afternoon.

The initial investigation indicates that the boy was picked up from his preschool by a Fisher Bus employee and was supposed to be dropped off at his daycare. When the boy was not dropped off at the daycare, daycare officials called the boy’s mother to ask about his whereabouts.

The bus company was contacted and a manager of the company went out to the parking lot and found the boy inside of the van unharmed. The boy had been left inside of the van for approximately 40 minutes.

The van driver allegedly checked some of the seats of the van upon returning back to the bus company terminal, but did not check all of them and the boy had apparently fallen asleep in his seat.

The boy was reunited with his mother following the incident.

For more on this story including the mother’s response, click here.