WINDSOR – A bus driver for Bertie County Schools is currently on suspension after a pre-school age child was left on a bus here Wednesday morning at Windsor Elementary School.

After discovery, the four-year-old child was examined by the school nurse and released into the care of the parents.

The name of the bus driver was not released.

According to information from Bertie County Schools, around 12 noon on Wednesday, a school custodian went outside as part of performing her daily duties and saw a student standing inside a school bus that was parked in the school bus parking lot, located directly beside the school building. The student had been on the bus since around 8 am.

“This is a very serious matter,” said Amanda Bunch, Communications Specialist for the school system, in a news release. “This incident should never have happened, and we are doing a thorough investigation.”

Bunch referenced the state school bus driver’s handbook, which states that it is the driver’s responsibility to make sure there are no passengers left on the bus at the end of each route.

“This is protocol for all regular and substitute bus drivers, and must be followed without exception,” Bunch said. “The driver has been suspended until further notice.

“We will reinforce to all transportation employees that protocol and all job responsibilities must be followed without fail. We will continue to take the safety of our students very seriously,” Bunch concluded.