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Bus driver accused of pushing special needs student will be allowed back on road

TUMWATER, Wash. — A school bus driver suspended while Tumwater School District and law enforcement officials investigate an allegation he pushed a 5-year-old special needs student off his bus will begin driving again Monday.

Monica Cornell said her son Ryen, who is autistic, was pushed off the bus by his driver when he was dropped off at day care after school.

She based the accusation on eyewitness accounts from three day care workers.

Only after KIRO 7 began investigating, did the district suspend the driver in early March.

Cornell said she was stunned to find out Friday that the driver would be allowed back on the bus route beginning Monday.

The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office has still not decided whether or not to charge the driver with assaulting Ryen.

"It's a very upsetting and frustrating situation," Cornell said. "I don't understand how this individual is being allowed to drive this same special needs route when there's still a case open against him."

A spokeswoman for Tumwater said the district is putting the driver back on the road because it now does not believe the incident happened.  Below is the complete statement from the Tumwater School District:

“In answer to your question regarding us putting the driver back on the road, our response is that we have a police detective who concurs with our outside investigator that the initial allegations were exaggerated and that what was initially described as a ‘push’ or ‘toss’ did not happen. The witness statements concur that the driver placed the student on the sidewalk next to the daycare worker. The report clearly indicated that the child was not injured in any way. What was alleged to have happened simply did not happen.”

However, Cornell stressed that the same daycare workers mentioned in the statement told her Ryen was definitely pushed off the bus.

“They all seemed very adamant about what they saw,” she said.  “I don’t see how it could be exaggerated.”

Ryen will also now be put on a different bus in the afternoon to keep him away from the driver following the alleged incident. Cornell has concerns about that decision. Ryen’s autism means he relies heavily on routine.

“He didn’t do anything wrong, so why is he being moved from his bus?” Cornell said.  “Why is the district accommodating the driver instead?”

KIRO 7 will continue to check with the Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision.​