Bus Driver Convicted after Leaving Special Needs Student on Bus for Hours

A bus driver was convicted by prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit after she left a special needs student alone on her bus for nearly five hours. A jury spent less than an hour deliberating before finding Ginger Lee Doane, 41, guilty of Reckless Endangerment. Judge Steve Sword set the case for sentencing on May 5.

At trial, Assistant District Attorney Joanie Stewart and Acting Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin Parham explained to the jury that on September 5, 2014, Doane was employed as a bus driver picking up special needs students and dropping them off at Carter Middle School and Carter High School. After dropping children off at both schools, Doane parked the bus at a parking lot off Rutledge Pike. Doane did not ensure that all students had been dropped off, and she left a twelve-year-old student with cerebral palsy and other physical and mental disabilities alone on the bus. The child remained on the bus for five hours before he was able to exit the bus where he stood alone before another bus driver noticed him.

“”As I have said before, my Office has a duty and responsibility to protect children in this community,”” said DA Allen,””but that responsibility extends to those we charge with the care of our children to make sure they get to school safely. Hopefully this conviction serves as a reminder of the importance of that duty.””

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.