A 12-year-old boy experienced a terrifying ordeal on the morning of March 16 while making his way to school in Wheelers Hill, located in Melbourne’s south-east. Around 8 a.m., the young student’s backpack reportedly became entangled in the automatic doors of a bus.
Footage captured on a mobile phone, which the boy’s mother released today, shows the child being dragged along the road. In a bid to prevent injury, the boy instinctively lifted his knees to avoid contact with the rough surface.
In response to the incident, Ventura Bus Lines has confirmed that the driver involved has been dismissed from their position.
“This incident is deeply distressing, and we are committed to providing support to the passenger and his family during this difficult time,” stated a company spokesperson.
They further emphasized, “Passenger safety is our top priority. We have reinforced our safety procedures with all drivers and are conducting a comprehensive review to strengthen our driver training programs.”
Following a thorough investigation and internal disciplinary actions, Ventura Bus Lines concluded with the termination of the driver’s employment.
The boy’s mother Grace shared the confronting footage on Instagram and said another school mum saw her son hanging off the bus and honked to warn the driver.
It is understood the boy was dragged for about 350 metres down Brandon Park Drive before the bus driver noticed.
“It still gives me anxiety every time I see the footage, it’s just horrible,” Grace told Today.
“When the bus took off he knew that he couldn’t keep running at its side so he just had to lift his legs off the ground.
“And honestly, if he was a taller student, or a weaker student, there is no way he would be able to hang on to the side of a moving bus, at that speed, for that distance.”
Grace earlier told 3AW that her son, who had just started year seven this year, was mostly uninjured.
He was left with some bruising on his shoulder from the strap of his schoolbag.
“We’re very, very thankful that he is physically unhurt,” she said.
“I don’t know how it happened.
“He could have died… he could have clipped the side [of the] cars.”
Grace said her son is now “traumatised” and does not like to catch the bus to school alone.
“[He] is still seeing a psychologist, but he can’t travel on the bus alone anymore and he gets panic attacks when he sees a bus on the road,” she told Today.
Grace called for safety improvements to ensure a similar incident does not occur.
“The bus door only has one sensor in the middle of the door and Nathaniel was caught under that sensor, so it didn’t set off any alarms for the driver,” she said.
“However, the door wasn’t fully closed, his arm was caught in it, you would think there would be another safety feature on the bus to alert the driver of that.”
“Ventura [the bus operator] are not being accountable, the responses I have received from them so far have been very dismissive and just very disappointing.
“We need our children to be safe. This should not have happened to [my son] or anybody else, it’s just horrible.”
Victoria Police said it is aware of the incident but that it was not reported to police.
Police are now making enquiries.
A Victorian government spokesperson said it was “disturbing vision”.
“We expect our bus operators to uphold the highest safety standards for passengers,” the spokesperson said.
“Following an investigation by Ventura, which included reviewing CCTV and speaking with the impacted family, the driver no longer works at Ventura.
“The Department of Transport and Planning is continuing an investigation to ensure safety processes are adhered to by the bus operator.”
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