Current:Home > MyOklahoma school bus driver faces kidnapping charges after refusing to let students leave -AssetVision
Oklahoma school bus driver faces kidnapping charges after refusing to let students leave
View
Date:2025-04-26 05:32:40
An Oklahoma bus driver is facing kidnapping charges after allegedly refusing to release students from his vehicle until they were quiet.
Surveillance video from inside the bus shows the driver, 68-year-old Thomas Young, refusing to allow anyone to exit and after a tense dispute with a few middle school students Friday afternoon in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a suburb east of Tulsa.
"Everybody be quiet I'm not moving until I don't hear any speaking," Young can be heard yelling in the video. "You think you can get away with stuff. I run my bus a certain way I don't care what the other bus drivers do. You obey me."
One student told the driver that they needed to be home in 10 minutes to which he replied "I don't care be quiet."
Fast food stabbing:Jack in the Box employee stabbed outside of restaurant in California
Bus driver charged with kidnapping, child abuse
The Broken Arrow Police Department charged Young with kidnapping and child abuse for the incident, according to FOX 23.
Young had been a driver for the school for slightly over a year and received no complaints or similar incidents prior to Friday, according to the districts Chief Communications Officer Tara Thompson. Friday was his second day taking that specific bus route and he was running 30 to 45 minutes late.
Thompson said that while bus drivers do have the authority to enforce school rules, Young did not follow the training protocols while attempting to quiet the students.
The driver eventually stopped his vehicle on the side of a main road where students then tried to exit the bus, Thompson said. Video shows banging sounds which Thompson identified as parents trying to get their kids off the vehicle.
"There are students who open the back of the bus and jump out while the bus is moving which is a huge safety issue," Thompson said. "There were lots of things that went wrong in the scenario. The students didn't respond well, the driver didn't respond well."
'They could be anywhere':4 men, including murder suspect, escape central Georgia jail
'A sad situation'
Police Capt. Josh McCoy told FOX23 that Young endangered the children by driving at low speed while some students were moving.
"Holding the kids against their will, and the fact that those children were jumping from the school bus while he continued to drive eastbound, even at a slow speeds, endangered them and put them in a dangerous situation," McCoy said, according to FOX23.
Officers then arrived at the scene and immediately arrested Young, Thompson said. He was terminated from his job by the school due to his charges.
The school has received complaints from parents since the incident, Thompson said. The school also provided counselors to students upset by the events, she added. School officials are working to identify which students were inciting some of the issues that were against district policies, such as the movement around the bus and profanity.
"I don't think anyone woke up that day thinking that was how the day was going to end. It's just, it's sad. It's just a sad situation," Thompson said.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Sephora Sale Last Day to Save: Here’s a Shopping Editor’s Guide to the 43 Best Deals
- Lionel Richie Shares Insight Into Daughter Sofia Richie's Luxurious Wedding to Elliot Grainge
- Vanderpump Rules Couples Status Check: See Who's Still Together
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Shop Our Favorite Festival Fashion Trends That Dominated Coachella 2023
- The Colorado and Ohio rivers are among the 'most endangered' in America. Here's why
- Meet the sargassum belt, a 5,000-mile-long snake of seaweed circling Florida
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Meghan Trainor Has a NSFW Confession About “Nightmare” Sex With “Big Boy” Daryl Sabara
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Let them eat... turnips? Tomato shortage in UK has politicians looking for answers
- The EPA approves California's plan to phase out diesel trucks
- Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Joked About Being in a Throuple With Tom and Raquel Before Affair News
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Why Sofia Richie's Brother Miles Richie Missed Her Wedding to Elliot Grainge
- Chris Appleton Thanks Fiancé Lukas Gage for Being His Rock During Sweet Awards Shout-Out
- Students learn lessons on climate change, pollution through raising salmon
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Satchel Bag for Just $89
Biden pledged to stop funding fossil fuels overseas. It's not stopping one agency
Miley Cyrus Goes Back to Her Roots With Brunette Hair Transformation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
SUPERBLOOM: A beautiful upside to the California downpours
Julian Sands' cause of death deemed undetermined weeks after remains found in California mountains
Jordana Brewster Shares How Late Co-Star Paul Walker Remains an Integral Part of Fast & Furious