BISCAYNE PARK, Fla. (WSVN) — A Biscayne Park family’s first day of school ended on a scary note, as the parents had to frantically search for a 3-year-old with autism after a major mistake landed the little girl at a stranger’s home.
Monday wasn’t the first day of school Nicole Jackson and OJ Browne were hoping for when they put their 3-year-old girl on the school bus. They hoped to have her right back home in the afternoon, but not before a couple of worrisome hours.
The parents said they are breathing a sigh of relief that their daughter is home safe after being dropped at the wrong house by her school bus.
“We decided to give it a shot, and we got one of the worst possible outcomes that we could’ve gotten,” said Browne. “We’re just saved by fortune and luck at the end that she wasn’t dropped off to somebody with malicious intent.”
Their daughter is autistic and doesn’t speak. She’s in Pre-K 3 at William J. Bryan Elementary in North Miami, not far from where she and her parents live.
“This is her first day riding the bus, her first experience,” Browne said.
“[She was] very excited,” said Jackson.
Instead of being dropped off at home, she was dropped off at a different house a little more than a mile away.
Thankfully, the people who lived in that house called police, and the little girl was reunited with her parents, but not before a very worrisome hour and a half.
“My daughter was supposed to be home at 2:39, and she was not found until around 4 o’clock,” Jackson said.
Jackson and Browne hope what happened to them does not happen to another family.
“There should be checks in place to ensure that a child is being dropped off at the correct home,” Jackson said.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools sent a statement in an email to 7News that says in part, “Miami-Dade County Public Schools is conducting a thorough review of this unacceptable and regrettable matter. At the conclusion of this review, the district will take disciplinary action against those involved, up to and including dismissal.”
The district said they will also review their school bus procedures and policies.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.