Parents say students were forced to get off school bus and walk 3 miles home on dangerous roads

GUNTOWN, Miss. (WTVA/Gray News) — Parents in Mississippi are demanding answers after they said their 11-year-old daughter’s school bus driver told her to get off the bus and walk miles home.

James and Ann Lofton said their child and several other kids were forced to walk three miles to get home, though it’s unclear why.

“You put your children out to catch the bus, you expect them to be safe on the bus,” Ann Lofton said. “You expect them to get to school safely, you expect them to get home safely, and then you get a phone call [saying] they’re walking down the side of the road. How is that keeping them safe?”

The parents said they reported the incident to the Lee County School District. The Loftons said Superintendent Coke Magee suspended the driver for five days after the complaint.

“We are aware of this, and it is being handled as a personnel issue,” the Lee County School District said in a statement.

James Lofton said he wants everyone involved to lose their jobs.

“That’s bull. It is bull crap. I think all their jobs, the superintendent, the one over the buses. I think they all need to be fired,” James Lofton said. “Because they’re hired to keep our kids safe. Instead, they put them out on the side of the road.”

James Lofton took his concerns to law enforcement. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said investigators have not found evidence to support criminal charges against the driver.

The Loftons are now seeking a lawyer as they consider their options.

“I’m not only protecting my kids by doing this. I’m protecting your kid, the neighbor’s kid, and the kid down the street,” James Lofton said. “What happens when one of these kids gets killed? I will take action, as in the court of law. Because it’s not just my kid. It’s the community’s kids.”