US bus driver charged after brake-checking young students
A US bus driver has been charged with 30 counts of child abuse after he deliberately hit the brakes to teach the young passengers aboard his vehicle a lesson.
Footage from the bus showed the primary school-aged children on the school bus in Colorado being shoved forward violently by the impact of the bus suddenly stopping.
"You guys need to be in your seats," Fitzgerald can be heard saying.
The students were flung forward when the bus driver brake-checked them. KRDO
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"You guys want to see how dangerous that is."
Footage from the bus showed most of the children sitting down, but some were standing up in their seats as they spoke to other pupils around them.
Fitzgerald has since written an apology letter after complaints from parents.
In the letter he began by talking about how messy the bus was when he arrived at work, and how the petrol tank was only a quarter-full.
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His apology did not come until the fourth paragraph of the letter, before which he had aired a number of grievances about his day.
"I am sincerely sorry for my choice of actions today in my efforts of training students," he said.
He has since been charged with 30 counts of child abuse by police, including one count of child abuse with bodily injuries.
That charge carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail.
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