INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — A Kenton County mother says she no longer feels safe letting her first grader ride the bus after the driver was involved in two accidents in less than two weeks.
Jazmin Kilgore’s son, Jaxon, is a student at Summit View Academy. She said she saw his school bus back into a mailbox on the first day of school.
“Then, when she pulled forward, a man across the street had told her she hit it,” said Kilgore.
Just a week later, Kilgore says she got an email from the school principal reporting another incident — this time, the bus scraped the side of a bridge. No students were injured.
WATCH: This mom said she's worried after her son's bus driver was involved in two accidents
According to Kilgore, the email stated someone checked on all the children and allowed the driver to finish the route.
Kilgore told WCPO 9 she reached out to both the Kenton County School District and the bus garage to express her concerns. She said she was assured the driver is capable and will receive additional route training, but Kilgore believes that training should happen without students on board.
“I don’t have any ill will,” she said. “But I am angry. It’s a frustrating situation when, as adults, they can't speak to you without getting nasty with you.”
She said that when she reached out to the bus garage, they told her that it's a hard job and focusing on the road while focusing on 70 plus students can be challenging.
"They did say she was new and that her license had just gotten passed, I guess last year, and that she was on a different bus and then ... switched to this bus," said Kilgore. "And he had stated that they were way different buses, and that's fine, but like maybe she does get extra help."
When WCPO 9 stopped by on Wednesday morning, the driver was operating a different bus. KCSD's spokesperson, Jess Dykes, said all Kenton County bus drivers meet and exceed the state’s training requirements.
The Kenton County School District (KCSD) takes great pride in its Transportation Department, which safely transports approximately 10,000 students each day on 86 routes, covering nearly 8,000 miles.
All transportation staff receive annual training that meets or exceeds state requirements. In the event of an accident, the District provides additional training and support to ensure the continued safety of students.
KCSD is aware of two separate minor bus accidents involving the same driver. No students were injured in either incident, and the bus route continued with only minimal delays.
Because this is a personnel matter, the District is unable to provide further comment.
For Kilgore, the situation is frustrating because her family only has one car. She is currently fostering a 1-year-old and said she will likely be unable to work now that she plans to personally drive her son to school each day.
“You have 70-plus children on this bus,” said Kilgore. “If she needs more training, that’s perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just do it in a safe manner while you’re also keeping the kids safe.”
