PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — During the first week of school, students in both St. Lucie and Indian River counties have been dropped off at the wrong bus stops and far from their homes.
Peter de Graaff said his daughter, 12, was forced off the bus two miles from where she lives at an apartment complex with a similar name.
"Not to believe a child when they tell you that's not where they live and kind of escort them off the bus, I'm mortified," de Graaff said.
Graaff said his seventh-grade daughter walked from the wrong bus stop to a nearby Publix that was a little over a mile away.
"Fortunately, she knew to pick up the phone and call and she knew what to do, but that is very scary for her or for any child," he said.
St Lucie Public Schools said in a statement that it takes full responsibility for the mistake and that the bus driver is away from students while an investigation is underway.
"I don't know how you screw this up," de Graaff said.
In Indian River County, three students from Citrus Elementary School found themselves lost Monday after a substitute bus driver dropped them off at a wrong stop.
The mother called the sheriff's office after the kids did not get off at the right stop. Within minutes, they were found.
"It's like one of those things you hear and then I said, 'Repeat yourself' because I couldn't believe it," de Graaff said.