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Deaf student left in the rain by bus driver - Tampa Bays Local News
Heather Catalano was never late from school, ever.
As a deaf student, the 13-year-old had special instructions on her bus route. The driver was supposed to take her door to door ever day. Without fail. But, Tuesday, her regular driver called in sick. And, Pinellas County was in the midst of a torrential rainstorm.
Heather was nowhere to be found.
That's because she was dropped off on the side of the road more than 2 miles from her home. She tried to communicate with the driver, but he couldn't understand her.
She was left in the pouring rain just a block West of busy U.S. 19 during rush hour traffic. A young girl trying to weave in and out of busy streets and intersections, without hearing a thing. A homeless man scared her, after he came out from behind a tree, asking for money.
She ran in the rain, as fast as she could.
"We had no idea what going on. I knew something was wrong," Heather's mother, Michelle, told Tampa Bay's 10 News.
The 7th grader's father was irate. He went looking for her. And, when he found out what happened, he was left shaken to the core, between screaming and crying.
"I was in a rage, that I probably would have hurt somebody if I got a hold of the bus driver for doing what he did. I mean, what father wouldn't," Joe Catalano said.
Heather herself used sign language and her mother as an interpreter during our interview. The petite, brown-eyed girl sat at her kitchen table, desperate to communicate what happened.
"The man didn't understand me, said good-bye, and kept going. I didn't have my phone to text my parents," she said.
So, how did this happen?
A spokesperson for Pinellas County Schools says Heather's regular bus driver, who knows about the child's disability, called in sick. And, a bus assistant that normally handles this sort of thing, had an emergency that day and wasn't replaced.
The question is, why did an adult leave a young deaf girl in the pouring rain, as she plead for help? In good conscience, how did the driver drop the child off and leave?
That's what officials are looking in to right now. They have taken the substitute off driving duty for now, pending the outcome of an investigation. He will be assigned to an office for the time being. He's been driving since December 2006.
Andrea Zahn with the school district said, "We are reviewing professional standards. The safety of our students is our highest priority. We are looking into whether procedures were followed."
Heather's father says this is child endangerment. Pure and simple.
"We're thinking about hiring an attorney. I want them to feel exactly what I felt, what my daughter felt. I'm not sure what will happen."
Joe says he received a call from his child's principal at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School. He even received a call from her teacher.
No call came from the district. He says that action alone speaks volumes.
Heather Catalano was never late from school, ever.
As a deaf student, the 13-year-old had special instructions on her bus route. The driver was supposed to take her door to door ever day. Without fail. But, Tuesday, her regular driver called in sick. And, Pinellas County was in the midst of a torrential rainstorm.
Heather was nowhere to be found.
That's because she was dropped off on the side of the road more than 2 miles from her home. She tried to communicate with the driver, but he couldn't understand her.
She was left in the pouring rain just a block West of busy U.S. 19 during rush hour traffic. A young girl trying to weave in and out of busy streets and intersections, without hearing a thing. A homeless man scared her, after he came out from behind a tree, asking for money.
She ran in the rain, as fast as she could.
"We had no idea what going on. I knew something was wrong," Heather's mother, Michelle, told Tampa Bay's 10 News.
The 7th grader's father was irate. He went looking for her. And, when he found out what happened, he was left shaken to the core, between screaming and crying.
"I was in a rage, that I probably would have hurt somebody if I got a hold of the bus driver for doing what he did. I mean, what father wouldn't," Joe Catalano said.
Heather herself used sign language and her mother as an interpreter during our interview. The petite, brown-eyed girl sat at her kitchen table, desperate to communicate what happened.
"The man didn't understand me, said good-bye, and kept going. I didn't have my phone to text my parents," she said.
So, how did this happen?
A spokesperson for Pinellas County Schools says Heather's regular bus driver, who knows about the child's disability, called in sick. And, a bus assistant that normally handles this sort of thing, had an emergency that day and wasn't replaced.
The question is, why did an adult leave a young deaf girl in the pouring rain, as she plead for help? In good conscience, how did the driver drop the child off and leave?
That's what officials are looking in to right now. They have taken the substitute off driving duty for now, pending the outcome of an investigation. He will be assigned to an office for the time being. He's been driving since December 2006.
Andrea Zahn with the school district said, "We are reviewing professional standards. The safety of our students is our highest priority. We are looking into whether procedures were followed."
Heather's father says this is child endangerment. Pure and simple.
"We're thinking about hiring an attorney. I want them to feel exactly what I felt, what my daughter felt. I'm not sure what will happen."
Joe says he received a call from his child's principal at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School. He even received a call from her teacher.
No call came from the district. He says that action alone speaks volumes.