Oviedo daycare bus driver arrested after leaving 6-year-old alone on hot bus, police say

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Updated  August 29, 2024 12:05am EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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Daycare driver left child on bus, police say

A daycare bus driver in Oviedo was arrested Wednesday after she unknowingly left a 6-year-old girl alone in the hot vehicle because she failed to check if any children were still on board, according to the Oviedo Police Department.

OVIEDO, Fla. - A daycare bus driver in Oviedo was arrested Wednesday after she unknowingly left a 6-year-old girl alone in the hot vehicle because she failed to check if any children were still on board, according to the Oviedo Police Department. 

The child was on the bus for just over an hour and woke up "realizing she was very hot and had trouble breathing," police said, adding that she had to bang on a window to get the attention of a parent walking by. 

Barbra Ledbetter, who drove the bus to All About Kidz in Oviedo, was arrested and charged with child neglect amid the investigation, which was first opened by the Department of Children and Families on Tuesday, according to an arrest affidavit. She has since been fired from the daycare center, a spokesperson told FOX 35 on Wednesday. 

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"Through DCF's investigation and my own investigation, it was determined [the child] was left sleeping on a daycare bus, which was turned off and unattended, for a period of one hour and two minutes in the parking lot of All About Kidz," the affidavit said. "The driver, Barbra Ledbetter, did not check the bus after arriving to the daycare and letting the kids off. Her job duty requires her to physically go to the back of the bus and visually check the seats, which she did not do."

Barbra Ledbetter (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Police added that Ledbetter signed a log saying she checked the bus even though she didn't. 

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Ledbetter has since been released from the Seminole County Jail after posting $2,500 bond. 

All About Kidz said in a statement that children's safety remains their top priority. 

"We have cooperated fully and will continue to do so with Law Enforcement," the daycare center said, adding that they have no further comment, citing the ongoing investigation. 

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State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, championed bus safety legislation after the 2017 death of 3-year-old Myles Hill. The Child Safety Alarm Act was signed into law in 2021, requiring alarms on buses and vans used to take children to and from childcare facilities.

"That’s why we have the bill, because we couldn’t guarantee someone was going to monitor the inside of a bus," she said. "There is no price tag you can put on it. This is a child’s life."

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