School bus driver accused of walking away from bus in Brazoria County

BRAZORIA COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- A school bus driver is off the job, accused of walking away from her bus. Parents say she pulled over then left their children alone on the side of the road.

Parents brought us to a stretch of county road south of Brazoria, claiming it's where a Columbia Brazoria ISD bus driver pulled over and left the kids inside by themselves for about 30 minutes, another driver finally showing up to finish the route.

The district says the driver is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, and is looking into what happened once the driver pulled over.

Parents say their children called them upset, and that leaving the children is inexcusable.

"I get a phone call and all I hear is the kids screaming and crying and the phone hangs up -- that happened three times. I finally was talking to my daughter and the bus driver got off the bus and left the kids unattended," said parent Tonya Scott.

"This is not OK when we are trying to teach them they can trust adults. They can't trust people like this," said parent Andrea Uhl.

There is video from the school bus, and while it will be used in the investigation, the district has decided not to release it to the public at this time.

Some parents feel the bus driver should face criminal charges for leaving their kids unattended. An investigation is ongoing.