A terrified two-year-old boy spent two hours alone on a parked school bus after being abandoned by its driver and a matron, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Workers at Adrien Long's day care center never noticed he was missing, and he was only rescued when an alert dog walker heard him sobbing and notified a safety agent at a nearby school.
Police were called and driver Roberto Isales and matron Shantel Ruth Thames were both charged with child endangerment.
"I went on the bus and the kid was crying. He wasn't even strapped down," said a witness who would not give his name. "I went over and he hugged my leg.
"He was wearing a blue winter coat, no backpack. His diaper had to be changed."
The driver and the matron picked up Adrien at his home in the New York borough of Brooklyn at 7:30am Eastern Time on Tuesday and were supposed to drop him off at a learning center, police sources said.
Instead, sources said, Isales forgot about the toddler, dropped Thames off at her home after the two completed their route and then parked the bus and went home for a nap.
Officials at the day care never realized that Adrien was not dropped off at the usual time of 8:30am, sources said.
He was taken to the hospital to be evaluated and then reunited with his parents, police said.
"I'm happy my boy is home," said the boy's father, through the intercom at their home.
"They (the driver and matron) are responsible. They're lucky the cops got to them first."
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