Former Broken Arrow Bus Driver Accused Of Child Endangerment, Kidnapping No Longer Employed By District

A bus driver at Broken Arrow Public Schools is no longer working for the district after being arrested for refusing to let kids off the bus to their parents.

The incident happened on Oct. 13th and a spokesperson says the kids on the bus were in middle school.

Thomas Young, 68, faces complaints of kidnapping and child abuse for refusing to let students off the bus.

Young told police it was his second day on the route, and he was unfamiliar with it. Witnesses say they saw the bus stop and kids inside were screaming for help. Some were even climbing out through the emergency exit door. Police say Young started and stopped the bus several times while students escaped out the back.

Broken Arrow Police watched surveillance video they said showed Young yelling at the students that he wasn't going to move the vehicle unless they were quiet. Police said the video also showed parents knocking on the side of the bus and Young still refused to let anyone off. Police said Young even used his arm to hold a child back from exiting the bus to get to the child's parents.

The Broken Arrow transportation policy states "a child can be let off the bus if the parent provides identification for the student,” but police said the video shows Thomas never requested to see any ID.

The school district said, "safety is our top priority and the district will take swift action to remove any employees who jeopardize the safety of our students."

The spokesperson said Young is no longer employed by the district. They said a different bus driver picked the students up from Creekwood school and finished the route, dropping the kids off at each of their stops.

The is still an ongoing investigation and no injuries to students from this incident have been reported.

Broken Arrow Public Schools said it's working to notify parents of students who were on the bus of what exactly happened, and additional counseling services will be available for students on Monday.