The mother of a five-year-old girl said she is urging the Toronto District School Board to implement higher safety protocols after her daughter was pushed off a school bus last Thursday.
Speaking with CTV News Toronto on Tuesday, Halima Sheikh said her daughter “flew off the bus” while returning home from her North York school, Maple Leaf Public School, located on Falstaff Avenue.
“When it was her turn to get off the bus, I saw that she flew off the bus,” Sheikh said. “All I can see is the part she flew off the bus. And then I asked what happened and she said, ‘I felt somebody's hand pushing me.’”
Her mother said she fell onto the pavement and injured her head.
The young girl told CTV News Toronto she doesn’t know who pushed her and that she’s scared to get back on the bus.
A cousin of the five-year-old girl posted an image of her forehead on social media showing a large bump. In the online post she said the vice-principal was notified of the incident and responded saying “what happens on the bus, happens on the bus.”
However, the TDSB said the vice-principal doesn’t recall saying anything along those lines.
In a statement issued on Monday, the TDSB said they are looking into the alleged incident that involved “unacceptable behavior.” One day later, the TDSB told CTV News Toronto that it was a Grade 5 student who allegedly pushed the girl off the bus.
Sheikh said she is calling out the school for how long it took them to react to what happened to her daughter.
“The vice-principal did not report this to the principal. And he did not report it in the book as an injury,” she said.
The TDSB said the principal became aware of the incident Monday morning because Friday was a P.A. Day and that the matter is still being investigated.
Sheikh added she is also requesting more safety protocols for bus drivers.
“I picked her up and I looked at the driver and he just looked away like he didn't care,” she said.
The school bus driver at the time of the incident, Peter Kim, told CTV News Toronto on Monday he didn’t know about the incident but said he would pull the bus over and report any such incident to the school.
