LA PORTE, Texas — A La Porte ISD mother is furious after she said her 11-year-old son was forced off the school bus half a mile from his home. She said he had to walk by himself in the heat and even had to cross a busy road alone.
Now, she wants something done so this never happens again.
It was his first day of school - 11-year-old Caden was nervous about starting 6th grade and it was his first time ever to ride the bus home.
“Exactly what I told them was going to happen, happened," Caden's mother, Amber Mongiello said.
She said she knew La Porte ISD had the wrong drop-off location for Caden’s bus and that she called and emailed multiple times. She even went in person to make sure it was fixed.
“And she said, 'Yes, I promise you, it will get taken care of,'" Mongiello said.
But still on Tuesday, the first day of school, she said it still showed the wrong stop. She called again and said she was once again reassured.
But when her son wasn’t at home at 4:30 p.m., she called once more.
“She said, 'I can assure you, the driver has been notified and that he is being dropped off at your house, they are just running behind right now,'" Mongiello said.
She said at 5:20 p.m., Caden walked through the front door.
“He was just bawling his eyes out. And he couldn’t speak, he was having a panic attack," Mongiello said.
And she realized what happened.
“That’s whenever it clicked to me. And I said, 'He dropped you off at the wrong place, didn’t he?'" Mongiello said.
Caden had to find his way home on his own.
“He was dropped off in an entirely different neighborhood that he’s never seen before. And he had no idea how to get home," Mongiello said.
She said her son tried to stay on the bus and he even had a note with the right address, but she said the driver made him get off anyways.
“Not only with the bus driver but again, the transportation office had plenty of chances to keep my child safe," Mongiello said.
She said her son had to walk half a mile in the heat and cross a busy road alone. Not only has she contacted the district, she’s also talked with police. She wants someone held responsible.
“This is why children get kidnapped, go missing, get hit by cars. There are so many possibilities that could’ve happened and I don’t want to see that with anybody else," Mongiello said.
La Porte ISD released this statement in response:
"We have received a report of a bus stop discrepancy, and we are investigating. We take our charge of safely transporting our students very seriously in La Porte ISD, and we will continue to enact measures to ensure the safety of our students."
La Porte police said they are aware of the situation and that it has been assigned to a detective for a follow-up investigation.