AURORA, Colo. — Police are looking for a woman accused of assaulting a school bus driver who reportedly grabbed a student in Aurora Wednesday.
The Aurora Police Department said officers were called to a suspicious occurrence involving students on a school bus near South Kittredge Street and South Mission Parkway at around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
They learned that a Cherry Creek School District middle school bus had broken down, and the driver couldn’t open the doors for about 15 minutes. When school officials opened the bus doors, Cherry Creek School District said the bus driver was trying to keep students on the bus while they waited for a replacement bus to arrive, but one student shoved past.
A video from a student witness shows the bus driver grabbing the student as he walked out. Other students say the student was crying about it when a woman arrived to pick him up and started asking about what happened.
Police said she then got on the bus and pushed and punched the bus driver, leaving him with minor injuries.
The woman drove off with the student who had been in the altercation with the driver, the police department said. Police believe the woman and the student might be related.
Security video from inside the bus was released by the Cherry Creek School District on Thursday. The video was blurred by the district to protect students' identities.
The alleged assault is not visible on the bus security footage, but the bus driver can be heard asking the woman to get off the bus as the woman is screaming and cursing at the bus driver, “Who do you think you are? You don’t put your ******* hands on my goddamn kids. Do you hear me, mother******?” as he asks her to get off the bus.
Zachary Hill, who arrived that day to pick up his son who was on the bus, said he saw the woman grab the bus driver's throat while she was screaming at him. Students who saw the woman get on the bus say they weren’t sure if the woman physically assaulted the driver.
In the bus security footage, you can hear students screaming at the bus driver as he is trying to listen to the radio communications about when the replacement bus was coming.
Students who were inside said it was getting increasingly hot. Some of them decided to jump out of the bus windows.
The school district announced that the employee has been placed on leave pending the investigation. They also noted that the students involved could face disciplinary action and that the Laredo Middle School administration is working closely with the transportation department to address the reported behavioral issues.
Content warning: The video below contains language some viewers may find offensive.
Cherry Creek School District sent the following messages to families Wednesday evening:
"Hello. This is the Cherry Creek Schools calling to let you know that your child’s middle school bus ran late this afternoon following a mechanical issue that caused the bus to stall. With the bus stalled, the driver could not open the doors immediately. An altercation occurred on the bus and police and district security responded to the scene. There were no reports of injuries among students and the bus driver suffered minor injuries. A second bus came to pick up the remaining students and transported them home. We share this information as part of our efforts to be transparent. We do not have more details to share at this time as the incident is under investigation by police."
Aurora Police said officers are still looking for the woman.