Bus Driver Wouldn't Bring Student Home in Snowstorm: Cops

A Naugatuck school bus driver has been charged after deciding not to drop a student off at home during a snowstorm and instead leaving him at a fast food restaurant more than a mile and a half away, according to police.

The 14-year-old boy’s family contacted police on Nov. 7, the day a nor’easter came through the state, dropping as much as a foot of snow in parts of the state. 

The bus driver, Keyla Rivera, 36, of New Haven, was having difficulty driving the bus in the snowstorm, police said.

Instead of driving the boy home, she dropped him off at McDonald's on New Haven Road and left, according to police.

The teen walked home in the snow from McDonald's to his house, which was approximately 1.6 miles.

According to the National Weather Service, just over 9 inches of snow fell in Naugatuck that day.

Rivera was charged with risk of injury to a child and second-degree reckless endangerment. She turned herself in to police at 2:47 p.m. on Wednesday and was released on a Promise to Appear.

She is due in court on Dec. 19.

NBC Connecticut made attempts to reach Rivera at a number that was listed for her.
 

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