Driver, kindergarten teachers face charges for death of 5-year-old boy forgotten in school bus

Nguyen Van Lam, 58, the driver of the bus where 5-year-old Tran Gia Huy was forgotten in, was arrested by the police of northern Thai Binh Province on Friday to be investigated for manslaughter.

Two teachers Nguyen Thi Phuong and Doan Thi Nham of the Hong Nhung 2 kindergarten, where Huy studied at, have been forbidden from leaving their residence to be investigated for "negligence that results in severe consequences."

Previously on Thursday, Phuong Quynh Anh, the kindergarten employee responsible for the transportation of students, was arrested for manslaughter.

At 6:20 a.m., Anh, along with driver Lam, picked up 5-year-old Gia Huy to drive him to school on the bus. Huy sat right behind the driving seat in a conscious state.

However, at 5:30 p.m. the same day, when Huy's uncle came to the school to pick him up, Huy was nowhere to be found.

Only then did people discover that Huy was still left on the school bus. He was rushed to hospital but declared dead upon arrival.

The police said Huy had stayed on the bus for 11 hours when it was around 35 degrees Celsius outside. As a result, Huy suffered from respiratory failure due to the heat and the lack of food.

A report by the Thai Binh Department of Education and Training said the kindergarten is a private facility established in 2022. It has 12 classes with 272 kids.

The school checks students' attendance through a mobile application. When a student is not present, the homeroom teacher is supposed to inform parents about it via the application, as well as calling the parents. However, when Huy did not enter class, his family did not receive any notification from the school.

In 2019, in a similar incident in Hanoi, a six-year-old boy died after being left on a school bus.

The driver, a student supervisor and a teacher were sent to jail for involuntary manslaughter and negligence causing serious consequences.