LIBERTY, Mo. — A Liberty bus driver was fired and is facing misdemeanor charges for assaulting a middle school student.
Scott Livingston, the bus driver, is charged with fourth-degree misdemeanor assault.
The parents of that 13-year-old spoke with KSHB 41's Megan Abundis about what happened.
Just a mile from Heritage Middle School, Nicole Danna and Brad Carrel expected their seventh grader, Zachary, to make it home from school safely.
"I answered the phone and he said, 'Mom, I just got assaulted by the bus driver. He choked me and punched me in the face multiple times,'" Danna said.
Heritage Middle School Principal Reagan Allegri said the confrontation happened while the bus was parked at the school and hadn’t left yet.
Students on the bus started recording the bus driver.
"In the video, you hear every kid on that bus screaming in fear," Danna said.
Zachary’s parents watched the surveillance video from inside the bus too.
"They did say it would be hard to watch," Carrel said. "Zachary didn’t say anything to the guy; doesn’t provoke him in any way. The guy originally started yelling at the kid behind Zachary, and Zachary was sitting in his seat smiling at him, and he said, 'You think that’s f*****g funny?' And lunged at his neck, grabbed his shirt."
They said they saw Zachary be choked, thrown, and saw his head go down twice.
Zachary’s friend and a school resource officer were able to help him off the bus.
The school said Livingston was told to wait at the school, but drove off.
Liberty police found him a mile south driving a bus full of kids.
Court documents revealed the students were calling 911 repeatedly.
"That just shows how scary the situation was," Danna said. “He does not want to ride the bus; he has told us he does not want to ride a bus and that’s sad. Our son was abused and beaten on the bus by this driver that was supposed to keep him safe."
After being arrested, he posted a $500 bond and pleaded not guilty. He'll be back in court in May.
The school district said Livingston passed multiple background checks through various programs before being hired.
KSHB 41 reached out to Livingston’s attorney and did not hear back.
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