Cause of local kindergartner’s bloody bus injury revealed in recently concluded investigation

DAYTON — An investigation into what led to a 5-year-old recently getting off a Dayton school bus bleeding badly has been finished.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00 Wednesday, Marina Davis said her daughter, a Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy student, was let off the school bus last week with no adult present and walked half a block home with her older sister trying to help her. The older sister had blood all over her hands from trying to put pressure on the deep injury on the little girl’s scalp.

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The 5-year-old had to be taken to the hospital to get stitches. Since then, Davis has been demanding answers.

Dayton Public Schools announced Friday that they’ve concluded its investigation into the incident.

“While we initially believed the student fell asleep in her seat, additional video footage indicates that she was playing with another student when she was injured,” Dr. David Lawrence, the district’s interim Superintendent, said.

Other GPS records and video footage indicated that the bus driver didn’t make any harsh brakes or driving errors that would have caused the injury.

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“The student did not report being hurt, and the driver only noticed the injury as the student exited the bus. However, the manner in which the bus driver handled this situation could have been improved,” Lawrence said.

The district will now take additional steps to make certain that bus drivers respond appropriately if a child suffers an injury while riding the bus.

“The safety of all students is the District’s utmost priority,” Lawrence said.

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