Crime & Safety

Driver Who Left School Bus Charged; Students Out of Hospital

Arturo Roberto Harris, 61, of Clinton has been charged with reckless endangerment for leaving students unattended on a Prince George's County school bus.

A driver who left his Prince George's County Public Schools bus unattended, reportedly to use the bathroom, now faces charges of reckless endangerment and traffic citations after the unmanned bus struck a child.

The driver left four students unattended on the bus about 7:15 Monday morning in front of High Point High School on Monday morning and the bus drifted across Powder Mill Road. The bus then hit an elementary school-aged child waiting at a bus stop.

Police say the students were headed to either Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel or Oaklands Elementary School in Laurel.

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Police officers arrested bus driver Arturo Roberto Harris, 61, of the 6900 block of Northgate Parkway in Clinton, according to the department’s blog. Harris faces charges of reckless endangerment, leaving a child unattended, and several traffic charges related to the accident. 

A Baltimore County auxiliary police officer who saw the accident rushed to the scene to help, police said. The auxiliary officer pulled the child from underneath the bus and stayed with him until paramedics arrived.

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The four students on the bus at the time of the accident went to the hospital with minor injuries. 

All five children are now out of the hospital, police said Tuesday.


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