A family is suing the San Diego Unified School District after their 4-year-old girl with mild autism was left behind on an empty school bus.
A complaint filed by the Estrada family a week ago seeks an unlimited amount of monetary and punitive damages in response to the 2014 incident.
On May 22, Fernando Estrada and his wife put their daughter Zia, who has been diagnosed with mild autism, on a school bus bound for Kumeyaay Elementary School. But four hours later, they were called to pick up their 4-year-old from the bus yard serving the SDUSD, Estrada says.
The parents soon learned Zia was found alone in an empty, parked bus by another driver.
Estrada told NBC 7 in May that he heard several explanations from school officials. One person told him the bus driver had told a school staffer that Zia was not on the bus, so he left to pick up other children and drop them off at another school.
An SDUSD spokesman said Zia was left unattended for less than 30 minutes. The girl was unharmed.
On Thursday, SDUSD spokeswoman Ursula Kroemer told NBC 7 they are not able to comment on the case since it is active litigation. She did say that the bus driver involved is still employed by the district, but he is on leave and no longer driving for them.
Local
The SDUSD has 30 days to respond before a lawsuit if filed.
