Inset: Patricia Barberena (Miami-Dade Corrections). Background: The intersection of SW 298th Terrace and SW 153rd Place in Miami, Florida (Google Maps).
A Florida school bus driver allegedly failed to check the back of her bus when she was done with her route and did not realize there was a young boy there whom she forgot to drop off.
Patricia Barberena, 62, stands accused of child neglect without great bodily harm. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office responded to the area of SW 298th Terrace and SW 153rd Place after a passerby saw a boy walking alone in the area.
Cops found the boy, age 6, and later learned he was supposed to be dropped off at school but fell asleep on the bus.
Apparently thinking she had made all her drop-offs, Barberena drove home and parked the bus near her home and walked inside. About 15 minutes later, the boy reportedly woke up and walked off the bus.
The boy's school alerted Barberena to tell her he never made it. She then rushed outside to find the boy around the time deputies arrived. He was later reunited with his father, unharmed.
Deputies transported Barberena to a police station for an interview. After receiving her Miranda rights, Barberena "admitted to not inspecting the bus to see if there were any students still on the bus," cops wrote. The name of the school where she was supposed to drop the boy off was not listed in the affidavit.
"The defendant knowingly and willfully failed to provide her children with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain the child's physical and mental health that a prudent person would consider essential for the well being of a child," deputies wrote.
Barberena was arrested and taken to the Miami-Dade Jail, where she has since posted a $2,500 bond. She pleaded not guilty. Her next court date is scheduled for July 31.
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