Current:Home > ContactTradeEdge-Oklahoma school bus driver faces kidnapping charges after refusing to let students leave -MoneyMatrix
TradeEdge-Oklahoma school bus driver faces kidnapping charges after refusing to let students leave
TradeEdge View
Date:2025-04-08 08:07:45
An Oklahoma bus driver is TradeEdgefacing 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! (42)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- More WestJet flight cancellations as Canadian airline strike hits tens of thousands of travelers
- Stock market today: Asian stocks log modest gains as economic data are mixed for Japan and China
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Chest Binders
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- There are 4.8 billion reasons why other leagues are watching the fallout from ‘Sunday Ticket’ case
- How to enter the CBS Mornings Mixtape Music Competition
- Horoscopes Today, June 28, 2024
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Teofimo Lopez vs. Steve Claggett fight live updates: Round-by-round analysis of title bout
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Masai Russell, Alaysha Johnson silence doubters in emotional interviews
- Trump Media stock price down more than 10% after days-long rebound in continued volatility
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, The Tortured Poets Department
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- AEW Forbidden Door 2024 live: Results, match grades, highlights and more
- Taylor Swift tells staff 'We need some help' for fan at Ireland Eras Tour show
- Florida tourist hub has most drownings in US
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Hurricane Beryl an 'extremely dangerous' Cat 4 storm as it roars toward Caribbean
How are Texas, Oklahoma celebrating SEC move? Pitbull, pep rallies and more
BET Awards return Sunday with performances from Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith and more
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Trump ally Steve Bannon to report to federal prison to serve four-month sentence on contempt charges
4 killed after law enforcement pursuit ends in crash; driver suspected of DUI
Terry Dubrow and Heather Dubrow's Family Photos Are Just What the Doctor Ordered