A 4-year-old girl was hospitalized after being left alone on a hot school bus for seven hours Tuesday, NBC5 reported.
The Dallas ISD pre-K student was not taken off the bus at Clinton P. Russell Elementary School and stayed strapped in her seat in heat over 90 degrees, according to KXAS-TV.
Her parents, Keturah Crockett and Robert Pruitt, told NBC5 they got a call from DISD student transportation services and learned their daughter was left alone on the bus for seven hours.
The family said their daughter, who is nonverbal, ended up seven miles away in Lancaster, where Dallas ISD keeps school buses at the Pat Raney Service Center, NBC5 reported.
After sitting for hours in the heat, a bus driver found the girl and paramedics were called, according to NBC5. The parents told the station that their daughter was treated for symptoms of dehydration at a hospital overnight, where she received IV treatment and fluids.
“Student safety is our highest priority,” Dallas ISD wrote in a statement Wednesday. “We are appalled about the incident involving a pre-K student who remained on a bus yesterday. We are grateful the student is well and are conducting a thorough investigation. Dallas ISD is committed to the safety and well-being of all our students.”
