A 5-year-old girl was hospitalized after being accidentally left behind on a bus by a day care teacher Tuesday afternoon in suburban Arlington Heights. The girl had been picked up from her school by the day care bus and was driven to the South Arlington Heights KinderCare at 1003 S. Arlington Heights Road. When the bus arrived, all the other children exited, but the young girl was unintentionally left on the bus, Arlington Heights police said.
The girl remained on the bus for several hours in freezing temperatures. She was later found asleep by authorities after being discovered. Paramedics were immediately called to the scene, and the girl was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment. Police did not provide further details about her condition.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for KinderCare stated that the safety protocols that should have been in place to prevent such an event were not followed. The teacher responsible for leaving the child behind, as well as the center director, have been placed on administrative leave while a thorough investigation is conducted.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care,” KinderCare said in a statement. “We have strict safety protocols specific to bus safety that should have prevented this kind of situation. We have reported this issue to state licensing and are working with them and the police to determine what happened and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.”
The incident has raised concerns about the safety and supervision of children during transportation to and from daycare facilities. Officials are looking into the details of how the child was overlooked on the bus, and what steps could have been taken to prevent it. At this time, it remains unclear if any criminal charges will be filed against the teacher or others involved in the oversight.
In the meantime, the daycare center has promised to review and strengthen its protocols to ensure something like this does not happen again. Local authorities are also involved in the ongoing investigation.
