Philadelphia Driver Arrested For Leaving 7-Year-Old Student Alone On Running School Bus To Go Grocery Shopping

A 28-year-old driver for the Durham School Services was arrested and is now facing charges for leaving a 7-year-old student alone on a running school bus while he went grocery shopping at a supermarket in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the NBC Philadelphia reports.

After picking up a male student, whose name has not been released, from the Cornerstone Christian Academy in Kingsessing at 58th and Chester on Monday, January 9, around 4:45 p.m., Philadelphia police officials say Jamar Henry made a stop at the Shop Rite supermarket at 67th Street and Haverford Avenue – something that should have taken place after work hours.

Instead of taking the student home, Henry parked the school bus in the parking lot and reportedly told the boy to stay inside while he went into the store.

When Henry returned to the school bus, there were police officers surrounding the bus, talking to the student, who told officers that he had been waiting on his school bus driver for at least 10 minutes.

Apparently, a passerby noticed the student inside the running school bus by himself and immediately alerted police.

Philly school bus driver accused of leaving boy alone on bus while stopping to visit ShopRite: https://t.co/mHAqq6oohz pic.twitter.com/B6tUmtCL9p

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) January 10, 2017

It was alleged that the driver did not tell the student why he went inside the store, but Henry told police officials that he only stopped at the Shop Rite supermarket because of a “bathroom emergency.”

After viewing surveillance footage from the store, police officials say Henry did not leave the boy inside the school bus for a bathroom emergency.

In fact, on the surveillance footage, Henry is seen taking at least 15 minutes walking through the store, grocery shopping.

It was not immediately made clear if the school bus driver exited the supermarket with a shopping cart filled with grocery items or if he abandoned the cart and ran outside when he noticed the police were outside, but the school bus driver was arrested at the scene.

Henry was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. He was also charged with possession of marijuana when officers found a gram of pot in his coat, police say. Officers say Henry was not under the influence at the time of his arrest.

After the driver was arrested for leaving the student alone on the running school bus, a spokesperson for the Cornerstone Christian Academy, which is a “co-educational, independent Christian school offering a full academic program for Kindergarten through 8th grade,” released the following statement: “Cornerstone Christian Academy would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the passerby who reported the incident concerning a student being left behind on the school bus yesterday evening, January 9, 2017.

“We would also like to thank the Philadelphia Police officer who stayed with the student and notified the school of the situation. Our first priority is always the safety and security of our students and we look forward to working together with the School District of Philadelphia’s bus services to ensure that our students are escorted safely to and from school.”

A school bus driver faces charges for leaving a child on a running bus while he went grocery shopping https://t.co/I2LSkaKxqm pic.twitter.com/q9oxPSBnVa

— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 11, 2017

On Tuesday, Molly Hart, who is a spokesperson for Durham School Services – which is based in Illinois — stated that Henry was released from his employment after his arrest.

In an email, the Cornerstone Christian Academy wrote that they were “grateful to the passerby who first called 911 about the unattended, running school bus and thanked the police officer who stayed with the student and notified the school.”

The student was not injured and he was returned to his parents.

[Featured Image By Imnature/iStock]