5-year-old’s ‘body was limp’ after she’s left on day care bus for hours, IL parents say
An Illinois day care facility says its protocols were not followed after a 5-year-old girl was left on a bus for hours in the cold, reports say.
“Like, I don’t understand. I was infuriated, I was enraged, and everything like that,” said Wamui Miwiya, the father of Dior, who was left on a KinderCare bus in Arlington Heights for around two hours Tuesday, Jan. 14, WBBM reported.
All of the other children exited the bus and entered the facility, but workers at the day care did not realize Dior was missing until later, WFLD reported. Police told the station the girl was found asleep on the bus.
Police said the girl was hospitalized, and her vitals showed they were in “vital range,” according to WMAQ.
But her parents said Dior was hypothermic, a result of temperatures that were mostly in the teens Tuesday, according to WLS.
“Her body was limp,” Caitlynn Gonzalez, Dior’s mother, told WLS. “I had to carry her almost unconscious body out of the bus.”
Police told WMAQ a criminal investigation is underway, but no arrests have been announced as of the morning of Jan. 16.
The director of the center and the teacher who left Dior on the bus were placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues, a KinderCare spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“We have strict safety protocols specific to bus safety that should have prevented this kind of situation,” KinderCare told the publication. “We reported this issue to state licensing and are working with them and the police to determine what happened and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.”
Dior’s parents told WBBM their daughter is now afraid of getting on a bus.
“She could have died today. She could be dead,” Dior’s father told WLS.
Arlington Heights is about a 30-mile drive northwest from Chicago.
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 5:55 AM with the headline "5-year-old’s ‘body was limp’ after she’s left on day care bus for hours, IL parents say."