A white Georgia school bus driver has been fired after allegedly pushing two Black students, whose parents believe it was a racially motivated incident.
According to the Morgan Citizen, the unidentified bus driver has been terminated from his position after he was allegedly seen shoving a pair of Black siblings in a viral video. Their parents, Nequania and Blake Carter, reportedly said the six and 10-year-old had been traumatized since the Sept. 9 incident.
“The Morgan County Charter School System was made aware of an incident Friday afternoon involving a bus driver and students,” a spokesperson for The Morgan County Charter School System wrote in a statement. “We took immediate action, including notifying the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, who we are working with during the investigation. We cannot share further details or comment due to this being a personnel issue; however, the driver was terminated.”
In the 12-second clip recorded by another student, an older white male bus driver is seen aggressively shoving the six-year-old Black boy before his 10-year-old sister attempts to intervene. Nequania said the driver wanted her son to sit in the back of the bus, but high schoolers usually sit there.
“Stop pushing my brother!” the girl shouts.
“Shut your mouth,” the driver responded.
The young girl fired back, saying, “Stop pushing — let him go!”
“Get back there,” the driver yelled at her.
“Get your hands off him,” she says.
“What a pain in the neck you guys are. Get back there,” he says while pushing the older sibling.
The Carters want to see charges filed against the white driver as they believe the incident was racially charged. As such, their children have stopped taking the bus and were pulled out the school.
“My son is terrified, he was scared, he called for his older sister as you could hear he was crying…he was horrified… you’re supposed to be protecting him,” Nequania said. “I don’t know why he told them to sit in the back of the bus because the high schoolers sit back there, and normally the primaries sit right behind the bus driver.”
The outraged mom added that this wasn’t the first time her family had complained to school officials about the unidentified driver. She even mentioned that she used to be a bus driver and never hit anyone’s child.
Authorities said the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is currently completing its investigation and will soon turn it over to the Morgan County Assistant District Attorney. There, it will be decided if charges against the driver will be pursued.
