School bus driver arrested after dragging 5-year-old caught in door, authorities say
A New York school bus driver was arrested Tuesday after police say a 5-year-old child was dragged along the road when the child’s backpack got caught in the bus door.
Tasha Van Dayne, 37, of Clinton, New York, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, according to a statement from the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said that it responded Monday to reports that a 5-year-old was being dragged by a school bus that was driven by Van Dayne.
Van Dayne was driving a 2023 full-size IC Bus for Clinton Central School District in Clinton, a central New York town that is roughly 50 miles southeast of Syracuse, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said that the incident occurred on Van Dayne’s afternoon route, shortly after she let several children off at a residence.
Van Dayne closed the door as the last child exited the bus and the child’s backpack became trapped in the bus doors, the sheriff’s office said.
The child was dragged “a distance” before the bus stopped and the child suffered minor injuries, according to authorities.
Authorities said that the incident occurred on Van Dayne’s afternoon route, shortly after she let several children off at a residence.Google MapsThe investigation is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
Van Dayne did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clinton Central School District said in a news release on Tuesday that the driver involved in the incident will no longer be driving students without naming Van Dayne. It added that it takes “an incident of this nature extremely seriously.”
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Van Dayne is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 16.
Matt LavietesI’m a reporter on NBC News’ breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.
