Distressed young girl left alone on bus for hours


Paramedics treated a three-year-old girl who spent four hours alone on a parked school bus in NSW. Photo: AAP
A three-year-old girl who spent four hours distressed and alone on a parked school bus in regional NSW is recovering from her ordeal.
A man spotted the little girl sitting in the front seat of an unattended bus parked on Forbes Street in the central western town of Trundle, just before midday on Wednesday.
The man unlocked the bus before contacting the girl’s parents, police said.
Paramedics treated the child before she was taken to Parkes Hospital, where she was assessed and later discharged.
A spokeswoman for NSW Health confirmed the girl was in good health.
It is understood the girl was supposed to have been dropped at the Trundle Children’s Centre in the centre of town about 8.30am. Instead, she spent about four hours trapped alone on the bus.
The centre said the bus was privately owned.
The NSW Department of Education is investigating.
“The department has been made aware of a serious incident related to the transportation of a child on a private school bus who attends a service at Trundle,” it said in a statement to Nine News.
“The department is investigating the matter and is unable to provide further comment at this time.”
Officers from Central West Police District are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
-with AAP