Bus Driver Let Kids Fight, Now Faces Charges of Child Endangerment
A bus driver has been accused of letting students fight until one was bloody instead of intervening and stopping the fight aboard the bus. Braden Matthew Hollis faces charges for allowing the students to fight and not protecting them.
According to reports, Hollis was behind the wheel of a bus when a fight broke out between an 18-year-old female student and a younger male student. The two began fighting at the back of the bus, and students immediately told the driver in order to break up the fight.
"Students were just screaming," Taylor Miller told Channel 4 Action News. "He just stayed at the front of the bus."
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Police pulled surveillance tape from the bus and were able to see the fight as well as hear Hollis tell students to "clear the aisle and let them fight."
The two continued fighting, but Hollis never reported the incident to the school. The boy's parents were the ones to bring the situation to the attention of officials. The female student has been charged with reckless endangerment, simple assault, and harassment, since she is technically an adult who fought with a minor.
"If it's on tape and the kids are saying it, I hate to say it it's probably true. I'm not a fan of that by any means – I think he should be punished," Bryan Yeck, a parent in the district, told Channel 4.
Hollis, meanwhile, has been charged with endangering the welfare of children. He is scheduled to appear in court next month. As a school representative, or authority, Hollis had a duty to report any danger to the children or potentially dangerous behavior to the proper authorities.
R.J. Rhodes Transit, the company that hired Hollis, told the Associated Press that they are cooperating fully with investigators and that Hollis has been removed from duty in the Freedom Area School District where the fight occurred. It is unclear whether or not he has been let go by Rhodes Transit.
