Driver Charged, Left Crying 3-Year-Old On Point Pleasant Bus: PD

A bus driver has been charged in Point Pleasant Boro after recently leaving a crying 3-year-old special-needs student on a school bus, according to police.

Richard Cohen, 67, of Point Pleasant was charged with fourth-degree neglect of children as a result of a May 2 incident, police said.

The 3-year-old was left on a school bus parked in the bus compound near the transportation garage, police said.

A high school student walking by the bus heard the child crying and summoned a school emloyee for help, police said.

An investigation revealed that the child was on the school bus alone for about one hour, police said.

The school nurse attended to the child who did not require medical treatment.

Cohen and a bus aide were fired following the incident, according to The Asbury Park Press.

The Ocean Road Elementary School preschooler was left behind on a warm day, and his mother spoke to the media because she wants people to know, according to the report. "If this happened to a different kid, not my son, I would want to know so I can make the decision about what's best for my child," Alana Hunt, the child's mother, told The Asbury Park Press.

The incident happened when a school bus driven by Cohen and aided by Marge Bartolomeo — both substitutes — dropped off students at Ocean Road during the morning, according to the repot. Hunt's 3-year-old son, Tanner, who has special needs, was still strapped in his car seat, according to the report.

Cohen was released on a court summons.