KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Clay County Prosecutor’s office has charged a bus driver in his late 60s with misdemeanor assault following an altercation on a bus Thursday.
In a message to parents of students on board the bus, Heritage Middle School Principal Reagan Allegri said the alleged assault took place on the school bus around 3:10 p.m. while the bus was still at the school waiting for departure.
Allegri says the student who was involved was helped off the bus by Liberty Public School District security.
While security worked to learn more about the incident, they told the driver, later identified as Scott Livingston, to remain in place.
However, Livingston decided to begin the route and left the middle school campus.
A Liberty Police Department spokesperson said officers were called to catch up with the driver and stopped the bus near the intersection of Groom Street and S. Leonard Street.
Officers took Livingston into custody. Allegri said a member of the district’s transportation team took over the route and got remaining children home.
Late Thursday, the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office charged Livingston with 4th degree misdemeanor assault.
In a letter to parents on Friday, Allegri said Livingston is no longer employed in the district.
“Please know that the safety of our students while at school, or in this case on the school bus, is our top priority and we are sorry that this incident took place, for not only the student involved, but also the other students that were present on the bus and witnessed the incident,” Allegri said in a communication to parents on Friday.
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