What to Know
A California bus ride home from school apparently took a wild turn on August 24, 2026, when the driver allegedly wouldn’t let the students off the bus because they weren’t following safety protocols. Police had to intervene when students began jumping out of windows and parents started physically fighting to get their kids off the Calaveras Unified school bus.
School district officials claim some people blew the situation out of proportion and have shared inaccurate stories about what really happened on board. Video from the incident shows a much different side.
The driver allegedly kept the students on the bus for a very long time.
Some parents told KCRA 3 the unidentified driver held their kids on the bus for an hour due to behavioral issues. The incident reportedly occurred near Highway 49 near Russell Road in San Andreas.
A 12-year-old bus rider told the news station that kids started getting loud because they were excited to get off the bus and go home. One student reportedly climbed out the bus window, and that’s when things took a turn.
“That’s when the bus driver was like, ‘Sit down, roll up the windows,'” the student told KCRA 3.
Parents began showing up at the scene.
Kids contacted their parents from inside the vehicle, and they began showing up trying to get them off of the school bus. Nichole Wellington tried to get the driver to let her in.
“I went right to the door, and I was like, ‘Dude, open the door. Let me have my kid.’ And he’s like, ‘I’m not doing that,'” she told the news outlet.
Eventually, Wellington gave her son permission to climb out of a window while she waited on the ground below. “If he would have handled that situation and gave the parents their kids that were there. I think it probably would have went a little bit differently than it did,” Wellington said.
Other parents waited for police.
Rebecca Glover told KCRA 3 she told her kids to wait for law enforcement to keep everyone safe.
“There was not just one child they had to think of,” Glover said. “They had to think of every single child on that bus at that time.”
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office arrived and ultimately arrested one parent for vandalism after they allegedly kicked the school bus door and broke the glass.
The Calaveras Unified School District shared a statement about the incident
Superintendent Kassie Meeks acknowledged the situation on the bus in a statement obtained by KCRA 3, but stated the parents’ one-hour timeline was an exaggeration.
“Based on our review of the bus video footage, the bus was stopped for approximately four minutes while the driver addressed concerning student behavior, reviewed bus expectations, and asked students to calm down. During that time, a student exited the bus through a window,” the statement reads in part.
The district added its support of the bus driver “Regarding the driver, after reviewing the video footage, the District believes the driver acted appropriately under extremely challenging circumstances. His focus remained on student safety, maintaining order, and attempting to de-escalate the situation.The bus did sustain damage during the incident and has been undergoing repairs, which has impacted the route this week,” the statement noted.
Following the incident, some parents opted to drive their children instead of letting them ride the bus. Wellington thinks the driver needs more adult support on board.
“I do feel that maybe that bus driver, especially when he’s driving, should not have to deal with all those kids by himself,” she said.
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