Thunder Bay mom calls for action after school bus driver drops off her son, then nearly runs him over

WARNING: This story contains video of a near-miss involving a school bus and young child 

A mom in Thunder Bay, Ont., is still recovering from the shock of watching as her son was nearly struck by the school bus that dropped him off outside their house. Now, she's calling for more training for drivers and adult supervision on buses. 

Melanie Pelletier's son Colt, who is in junior kindergarten, was walking across the street Monday, after a day at St. Jude School, that he attends with his sister Aria, who's in Grade 3. As Pelletier watched him cross, the bus began moving, nearly hitting Colt before he stepped back out of the way. 

While this was happening, Aria got her backpack straps caught in the bus door, and Pelletier says she thinks this may have made the driver stop. 

"I'm kind of glad Aria got stuck in the door because if she didn't get stuck in the door, Colt would have got hit," she said. 

The incident was caught on her home security video.

After getting over the initial shock, Pelletier contacted the Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay to report the driver, and her children's school. 

Driver suspended

On Tuesday, Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay issued a statement acknowledging the incident, which it called "an extremely unsafe student drop-off procedure, violating multiple key requirements in stopping and discharging students resulting in a student nearly being struck by the bus."

The school bus company, Iron Range Bus Lines Inc., has suspended the driver from any routes while it conducts an investigation and reports back to the transportation service. 

WATCH | Near miss involving a school bus in Thunder Bay:

The transportation service has checked in with Pelletier multiple times since Monday, keeping her abreast of the situation, she said.

Pelletier captured video surveillance footage of the incident from her camera and that of her neighbour. She shared the videos on social media. 

Thousands of people have viewed the videos and left comments expressing their outrage at the driver's behaviour.

"I have seen a lot of parents who were sick to their stomachs and couldn't watch the video. Some couldn't even press play on the video and some of the comments made me realize how lucky we were," said Pelletier.

Pelletier said she would like to see an adult supervisor on board all school buses responsible for monitoring the children. This change would allow the school bus drivers to focus on the road and not be distracted by students' behaviour, she explained.

The incident has also made her question the impact of the school bus driver shortage on the quality of training and expertise of those hired. 

"I hear they do get extensive training but maybe (they need) a little bit more," she said. "I know there is a shortage, so I feel like they're just kind of hiring anyone that wants to do it."

She also hopes that her son's near-miss will help students, parents and drivers become more aware of school bus safety, she said.

While Colt and Aria were hesitant to get back on the bus, even with a new driver, their mother said they are "troopers" and have been fine since.