HOUSTON — A mother and her child said they're still shaken up after a recent incident after school.
Monique Daniely's son got on the wrong bus. It wasn't just the wrong school bus, though. The 6-year-old got on a METRO bus and got off at a stranger's home.
"He took the METRO bus. He's a car rider. Why would he take the bus?" Daniely said.
Both of her children go to Whidby Elementary. When she went to pick them up, she was told that her youngest was nowhere to be found.
Another parent called the school and said she found the child wandering around an apartment complex.
"Letting him walk out of school by himself is frightening," Daniely said.
The mother later found out that her son was allowed to follow a group of kids to a METRO bus stop and get on a bus because he thought he would get home faster.
What she doesn't understand is how the school let it happen when he gets picked up by car every day.
"He could have gotten kidnapped, hit by a car, anything. A stranger could have done whatever to him," Daniely said.
The Houston Independent School District issued a statement saying that student safety and security are their top priority and they're aware of the incident. They said they're taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
"The campus will be updating bus and dismissal protocols for all students," HISD said.
They acknowledged the distress the incident caused and said they'll support the student and the family through the process.
HISD statement
"Student safety and security are our top priority and primary responsibility at every campus, every day. The District is aware that an elementary school student was allowed to board a bus when they should have been picked up by their family. We take any issues that jeopardize student safety very seriously, and we are taking steps at the campus level to ensure this does not happen again. Specifically, the campus will be updating bus and dismissal protocols for all students. We understand the distress this caused for our student and their family, and we will support them through this process. The District will continue to monitor progress and improvements at the campus moving forward."