Workers Left Autistic Boy On School Bus, Prosecutor Says

Two school bus company workers have been charged with child endangerment after authorities say they left an autistic 6-year-old boy on a bus fore more than seven hours, authorities said.

According to a news release from Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan:

Luis Gonzalez, 67, a bus driver from Middlesex Borough and Maria Vasquez, 53, a bus aide from Edison, were charged Thursday with endangering the welfare of the child.

The boy was picked up on Oct. 22 and was supposed to be taken to a school in Edison at 8:45 a.m., but he was never escorted off the bus. The vehicle was then returned to the Barker Bus Co. yard in Bridgewater.

During the afternoon school pick-up, another driver found the child and alerted the owners of the bus company. The boy was brought safely to his school, where he was examined by the school nurse around 4 p.m. that day.

Both defendants have been released on their own recognizance.

The investigation was handled by Detective Jeffrey Tierney of the Edison Police Department and Detective George Stilwell of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.