MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) - The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is recommending charges after a school bus driver reportedly left a 4-year-old inside a hot, empty bus.

Investigators said the driver failed to check the bus after finishing the afternoon route in the Kewaskum School District.

The child is OK, according to the sheriff’s office.

Bus company cites checklist failures

The Johnson School Bus Service acknowledged that multiple safety steps were skipped.

The bus service said the driver did not follow the company’s checklist, and a manager who is supposed to double-check the buses also did not do so.

“All of those things didn’t happen yesterday,” Kenn Jones, with the bus service, said. “Why? I don’t have the answer to that right now as to why the driver did not do the child checkmate or the student search on the bus or go through the lot to check for empty signs.”

Parents report other issues

Parents Samantha Scoop and Seth Doherty said their children were also delayed by one hour at drop-off and were not allowed to roll down their windows despite the heat.

Scoop said her daughter got sick after arriving home.

“She looked very unwell, and so I got out of my car immediately and just like rushed to her,” Scoop said. “She was just sweat. It was terrible.”

Doherty said his daughter was also sweating and scared.

“We’re dropping the ball on day one, and it’s very concerning to see what the rest of the year is going to look like,” Doherty said.

Both parents say they will now carpool together and pick up their kids when school is over.

The bus company said it would retrain drivers and has taken appropriate action.

Copyright 2026 WTMJ via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.