Skip to content
Skip to Content

‘It felt like I was being held hostage’: Terrifying moments for bus full of kids

By Kendall Keys

Click here for updates on this story

    HARTLAND, Wisconsin (WISN) — Hartland police arrested a school bus driver Monday. The driver, a 72-year-old Hartland man, is accused of driving while intoxicated.

Hartland police said the Waukesha County Communications dispatch center received a call from a student at about 4:23 p.m. stating that the driver wouldn’t let the kids off the bus and was acting erratically.

Hartland police eventually pulled the bus over, and a 72-year-old Hartland man was arrested. He was booked into the Waukesha County Jail.

“Apparently, didn’t stop at the last eight stops and students are screaming in the background,” a dispatcher said, describing the 911 call to officers.

WISN 12 News spoke with Jacora Reades, who was on the bus.

“Everybody was screaming. Everybody was crying. He wouldn’t stop. The crying just kept getting louder and louder,” Reades said.

Jacora, an eighth-grade student, was riding the bus home with her fourth-grade brother, Jacory.

“He missed our stop, and then he just kept going. He missed everybody’s stop,” Jacora said. “It felt like I was being held hostage at this point. And it just — it was wrong.”

Jacora said kids begged the driver to stop.

“He said, ‘I’m God of this bus. I have control over when this bus comes and goes,’ and kept on riding,” Jacora said.

Jacora said eventually, a parent blocked the bus with a car near Marquette Road and Briar Cliff Court in Hartland. All of the kids ran off the bus.

“I have probably 50 kids outside the bus, and the bus is driving away,” a dispatcher said.

Hartland police said the bus evacuated, then the man drove away.

“It was chaotic. Everybody was crying. There were some parents around that were helping us, like, get home. Everybody scattered,” Jacora said.

Hartland police officers pulled the bus over and arrested the driver.

Jacora called her mom, Jonisha Neita, who rushed to pick up her two kids.

“As soon as she called me, I ran out the house,” Neita said. “It scared me. My son was crying. I heard my son crying. I heard a whole bunch of crying in the background.”

Neita said she’s driving her kids to school Tuesday.

“I’m scared. It brings fear to my heart,” Neita said.

Superintendent Tina Vogelmann spoke with WISN 12 News after Monday’s school board meeting.

“It’s disgusting. I’m outraged. I don’t want this for our community. I don’t want this for our families, for our students. They deserve to be safe, and we’re going to do what we can to keep them safe,” Vogelmann said.

The school bus was under the operation of Dousman Transport Co., serving the Hartland-Lakeside School District.

The bus company told WISN 12 News, “We are looking into an incident from today, and will be releasing a statement in the near future.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

ABC 17 News is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.