Milwaukee school bus driver left 4-year-old girl alone on bus: Prosecutors

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Charges were filed Jan. 10 against a Milwaukee school bus driver accused of leaving a 4-year-old girl alone on the bus on Jan. 6 near 23rd Street and Scott Street.

Lamonica Langston, 44, faces one count of neglecting a child — specified harm did not occur.

According to a criminal complaint, Langston was supposed to pick up the child, now 5, and drop her off at Milwaukee's Spanish Immersion School, but the girl fell asleep on the bus and Langston did not notice and drove the bus home.

There, prosecutors said she failed to comply with company policy and complete a walk-through of the bus to make sure all of the children were off the bus.

The 4-year-old girl woke up alone and cold on the bus, the complaint said, with prosecutors noting it was 36 degrees. The complaint said the child began to cry and started banging on windows until a concerned citizen noticed. That person was unable to open the doors to the bus, so 911 was called. Firefighters responded and pried open the doors.