Georgia parents confront bus driver who refused to release students in viral video

Georgia parents were floored when they were unable to retrieve their children from a school bus and instead were forced to watch the students attempt to flee via the windows and emergency exit.

Viral footage of the unusual incident began circulating on social media on Saturday (Jan 21). According to Atlanta news station 11 Alive, the ordeal transpired on Wednesday (Jan. 18) when a substitute driver for the Paulding County School District refused to allow students to exit the vehicle if they did not have a tag on their backpack indicating their bus stop. Per the district’s policy, students are required to use the identification tags.

Parents attempted to retrieve their respective Allgood Elementary pupils to no avail at a Dallas, Georgia drop-off location before the situation became physical. In one of the video clips, a mother is seen arguing with the female driver. The enraged parent then slaps the driver, who responds by slapping her back, closing the door and driving away with the kids.

Outrage and concern for the children’s safety grew when the bus stopped at a traffic light at the busy intersection of Old Harris Road and Jimmy Campbell Parkway. Screaming adolescents tossed their backpacks out of the bus and climbed out of the windows to reunite with their parents.

Officers who were called to the scene helped other riders exit. “I keep replaying seeing my daughter hanging out the window and screaming at the top of her lungs, and I couldn’t do anything to prevent that, you know?” parent Samantha Lee told news station WSB-TV. “The whole thing has been very emotional for me.”

The district said the incident is under investigation and, in the meantime, the driver has been placed on administrative leave. According to Dallas police, the parent who struck the district employee could face criminal charges.

View the confrontation below.