Show us the video, says family of 4-year-old left alone on N.J. school bus for hours

The Egg Harbor Township family of a 4-year-old left alone on a school bus for hours has requested video from the school district of the day the child was missing, their attorney said

On Dec. 17, Makani Lugo fell asleep on her bus after boarding it for preschool at 9:15 a.m., police said. Her father, Miguel Lugo, discovered she was unaccounted for that afternoon after he went to a party at her classroom and was told she was not in school.

A bus driver and aide involved in the incident are not longer employed by the district, school officials said.

“The parents of Makani Lugo have retained my firm concerning this matter … to investigate and pursue claims against the school district and any others responsible for the incident,” Michael J. Pender, an attorney for the family, said Thursday.

“I requested the video last week. I sent out a notice to preserve any evidence, any videos, any electronic communications or hard copies,” he said.

Pender said he has requested “all video from the school, the bus or busses used to transport the child, videos from the school and parking lot, and all records concerning the automated and manual student attendance and parental notification system.”

A police report said the child was discovered around 3 p.m. on the bus, which was parked in the Egg Harbor Township School District’s transportation facility.

“Imagine being a child and waking up alone on a school bus,” Pender said. “It is not only a parent’s nightmare but a child’s nightmare.”

Pender said the parking lot was “several miles” from the girl’s school, Bargaintown Preschool. When she was reunited with her parents, she was “crying, hysterical, and cold,” Pender said.

Pender said he plans to file an intent-to-sue notice with the school district in the next 90 days, the first step in a potential lawsuit. The district will have 180 days to review the case and decide whether to settle it, he said.

Pender said he has already asked district officials to preserve any evidence, including surveillances videos and messages about the incident. He said he wants to see what happened to the child while she was on the bus.

The names of the bus driver and bus aide who were involved were not released in a statement issued Dec. 20 by Egg Harbor Township School District Superintendent Kim Gruccio.

In her statement, Gruccio expressed regret over what happened, calling it “unacceptable” and saying that an investigation was ongoing.

“The district cannot comment further except to say that our hearts go out to this family, and as a district we will continue to focus on student safety remaining our number one priority,” she wrote.

The child has not returned to preschool since being left on the bus, Pender said. Her family is looking for educational placement elsewhere for her, he said.