Bus driver caught on camera kicking special-needs child
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Prosecutors in Florida have released video showing a driver pushing a special-needs child off a school bus with her foot.
The video was released by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office on Wednesday. The driver, 41-year-old Stephanie Wilkerson, has been charged with aggravated child abuse. A phone number listed for her was disconnected, and it was not immediately known if she had an attorney.
Police say Wilkerson was driving the special-needs children to school in Tampa on Sept. 28 when the 8-year-old wanted to get off the bus. She was told to wait her turn, but police say she slapped and pushed the driver.
The video shows Wilkerson using her foot to push the girl off after she hesitated for about a minute. The girl fell and fractured her ankle.
Lock up this disgusting fat piece of dog vomit
I don't care WHAT the problem is, YOU DON'T KICK KIDS!! Why don't these people that do these things understand that? I've 2 kids of my own, and believe me, there ARE times I'd LOVE to kick them, but I don't! I love them too much to hurt them like that. I'd not do such a thing with any other kid either, they don't deserve it. My getting mad about their behavior is MY problem, not theirs! So goes with any rational adult. I'm glad I don't have these happening in my kids' schools and buses.Â
I push my dogs all the time with my feet. Doesn't mean I'm abusing them. Sure beats bending over and pushing with my bad back.
@Chico you should not have a dog
Oh how nice of a Government workers to lend a foot to expedite traffic. Â Imagine, that person working for government will get pension for the rest of her life and don't have to worry about saving a penny because she's a government labor union worker!
@NWDemocrat You really have no idea what a fool you are... do you
@NWDemocratÂ
You *claim* the bus driver is a "government worker". How do you know? Here in Seattle, they ELIMINAATED the school district hiring drivers directly & being responsible for them, as have many other districts. Instead, they contract it out to the lowest bidder.
And this is what you get....
The child has a broken ankle; the driver is nuts.
No adult should kick a child. Period.
If you don't have the patience to work with special needs children, you shouldn't be working with special needs children. Plain and simple.Â
It's probably easy to lose your patience sometimes in this kind of work, but I can't wrap my head around how anyone could want to harm or be mean to someone like this. I think it says a lot about a person if they're capable of being rough with a special needs child.Â
What does the adult woman in the red/pink shirt say about this. She looks like she was trying to help the child up but didn't look too ticked off at the driver.
I don't think she saw the kick. Probably just thought the kid slipped.
So is this girl mentally/physically delayed or just another one of these kids in special math/reading class because parent(s)/ grade level teachers don't have the time to deal with her education pace? The little girl pushed/shoved the bus driver before this happened and imo, a gentle yet swift kick in the rear is what this little bully needed.
@Ducky This girl is Autistic. She is not a bully, she is a victim. The driver has been driving these kids for almost 2 years, she knew this girl was autistic.Â
If you lose your cool over something like this, you should not be working with special needs kids in the first place. You just do not cross that line, I don't care if the girl punched her. I'm sure the parent is livid; and a broken ankle no less! Heads are 'gunna roll.
She was WRONG. Did you guys also notice her death grip on the little boy?? She needs to be locked up. Poor little girl and boy. We put our trust in them to take care of our children, ESPECIALLY those with special needs. I hope this little girl will b eok and not afraid to ride the bus anymore. This woman belongs behind bars for kicking that child and the way she treated the little boy.
Who is the person dragging the kid off the bus BEFORE the driver kicks her?Â
Sick. And the notion that women would do things different is absurd.
If she did that to my kid, she'd have my foot planted squarely up her butt! Horrible!
So she kicks the girl then runs down the stairs to "help" the girl when she sees other people present. Then as the boy is trying to get off the bus, the driver has a death grip on his arm. Wtf?Â
I am amazed at the technology displayed by the automatic blurring circuitry of the camera. What won't they think of next? [/sarcasm]
It wasn't a kick ppl. She was helping them off with her foot.
@anoms0017 I understood your sarcasm.
@Robinsnest thx, it takes a Lil genius and sense of humor. I do feel bad for the kid tho.
@anoms0017Â @Robinsnest ok, I have egg in my face ;-)
@anoms0017 "helping" ? Let me come over and "help" you understand ;-)
@anoms0017Â Um no, she wasn't. It's never appropriate to do this to ANY child.
@BluefireJaguar @anoms0017 Let's be glad they wasn't on military transport en route to the dz!
@anoms0017Â Thats fine for a regular student if you're careful but it is totally unacceptable for a special needs student. I've driven the Access buses and the people you deal with there just require a little extra patience and compassion. The vast majority of the kids are easy to work with and just a few have very serious issues that need a little extra care. There's no big hurry, appointments are meaningless when dealing with handicapped people whether kids or adults. Just get them there in one piece. The places where you are taking them are already well aware of the issues so just slow down and act like an adult.
@Blindman @anoms0017 No it's not fine for anyone to be kicked. Human or animal.
What she did was awful and very wrong. On the other hand, maybe someone should teach the special needs child that it is not alright to slap or push people when they don't get thier way. Just sayin!
@Montana Neanie. As the parent of a special needs child I know first hand that you can not always control your childs actions. Try as you might they are always going to respond differently than "normal" kids. It is very frustrating and heart breaking to have a child that can't control their anger at times, but what is worse is when adults refuse to understand that these kids can't always control it!
@Montana Neanie Did you see the child smacking and hitting the driver? I didn't. All I saw was the driver kicking a CHILD off the bus.
@Tattooed_Angel2 It says so in the article, didn't you read it? "She was told to wait her turn, but police say she slapped and pushed the driver."Â
@Montana Neanie I SAYS it in the article but where's the video proof? News articles say lots of things but it doesn't mean they are always true.
I sure hope your not justifying that womans actions...They are special needs children....
I dont care if that 8 YEAR OLD GIRL was slapping the driver...That driver is the ADULT on the special needs bus. Ridiculous.
@bmoe1111 What part of "awful and wrong" constitutes justification, I don't think she was justified!! I worked for years with specail needs children and I am here to tell you, if they are functioning enough to ride on a bus, they know that hitting is wrong. Â
@Tattooed_Angel2Â @Montana Neanie Who says you saw the ENTIRE video? Think before you let your emotions run wild...
Your so much smarter than the rest of us (sarcasm).
@Montana Neanie I read the article, but failed to see the proof in the VIDEO.
@Montana Neanie @bmoe1111 Who didn't read the article and made assumptions?Â
@bmoe1111 People in this forum don't read the articles fully or the comments. They read headlines and make assumptions from there, I should know better.
@Montana Neanie @bmoe1111 Wow I know of a special needs child wo is 12 and rides a school bus but she has the mental capasity of a 6 month old- she desn't understand right from wrong and occaionally hits and bites and pinches those around her. Just because she can ride the bus does not mean she is functioning enough to know right from wrong.Â
Yikes.
So your trying to say that the child should have known better? Maybe i'm misunderstanding your comment, but it sounds like you are saying that all special needs children that ride on the bus are capable of functioning normally and following all the rules because all special needs children on the bus are the same???
I'm sorry but, I just cant see myself putting any blame at all on the child.
What a pig
Disgusting and unacceptable. I hope she receives a punishment reflective of this behavior. She should be ashamed of herself. Special needs children don't react and think the way we do and can be somewhat unpredictable; hence "special needs". You need to be patient and caring when with them. Clearly something she is not capable of. And the way she just stands over her too. It just makes me angry!
@cm257n7Â Â Â It seems like there should be another responsible adult riding on a special needs bus.
@achoo2 To me that's the sad part. You should be able to trust that the person driving your kids to school knows what they're doing and how to handle them. Maybe they should have had a bus driver with a little bit of more training or a little different training. Although I do agree that since they can be a handful it couldn't hurt to have another adult on the bus.Â
@achoo2 @cm257n7 OK went and found other articles on this story there was a bus aide that day- I think that may be who was trying to help the girl up and away from this sick monster.Â
@achoo2 @cm257n7 I wish they would have 1 adult for every 3 special needs children on a bus- so many times there is just the driver for 10-12 special needs kids- I worry about an accident of fire more tan anything- no way could 1 person get all the kids off safely. Heck I wish there was an adult on every elementry bus also, an extra set of eyes and hands would help so much.Â
@achoo2Â @cm257n7Â You are so right!