Three small children remained at a bus stop on Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Brak without adult supervision because the driver of an Egged 402 bus closed the doors of the bus in their father’s face, stopping him from getting off the bus with them, the daily HaMevaser reports. The father got off at the next stop, about 15 minutes later, and he ran back towards his children, who were quite hysterical.
According to eyewitnesses to the erev Shabbos event in Bnei Brak, the father was alone with four small children, the youngest an infant. The father boarded the bus with the eldest child, Sholom, asking the driver to wait a moment as he looked for a familiar face, a person who would watch over the children on the trip from Bnei Brak to Yerushalayim, and instruct the children when to get off. The avreich was sending his children for Shabbos bus he was remaining in Bnei Brak.
As he found the person who accepted responsibility for the children, the driver closed the doors and began driving off. Three children were left alone on the sidewalk, now hysterically screaming and crying as the saw the bus driving off. The avreich shouted and pleaded with the driver to open the doors, but he ignored the plea and continued driving. The driver then told the avreich that he already left the bus stop and therefore, it is illegal for him to open the doors. The avreich continued pleading with him, but the driver continued on his route.
Passengers on the bus turned around and saw the hysterical children, as well as passersby stopping to comfort them, seeking to learn why they were crying and hysterical.
After about 15 minutes of bumper to bumper Bnei Brak traffic the bus arrived at the next stop. The father and Sholom got off and they headed back to the children, who were still quite hysterical when they arrived.
HaMevaser turned to Egged for a response and an explanation. Egged promised to probe the matter thoroughly.
Egged spokesman Ron Ratner released the following statement following the bus company’s investigation. “An investigation into the incident revealed the following. The father and son got on the bus at the Gan Warsaw stop. The father told the driver he was pay in a moment. The driver assumed the avreich and his son were traveling on the bus to Yerushalayim.”
“The driver claims that he was never made aware of the children left behind at the bus stop. He insists this is so. The driver was only made aware of the situation when the bus reached Chazon Ish Street and the driver told the father he would stop when it is safe.”
YWN-ISRAEL adds: Would one expect a driver who would leave small children crying hysterically at a bus stop along to admit to such actions?
Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
13 Responses
What a woos. he should have kicked out the door and gotten off.
To the part where YWN-ISRAEL adds: It sounds like you are assuming that the bus driver intentionally did it. Why not be Dan L’kav Zchus and assume that he meant what he said (and thereby leave out that comment)?
Why should a bus driver feel bad for doing his job? The parent should’ve found a better way to get his kids to Bnei Brak safely than at the last minute on the bus. There were stops before and after it where he could’ve met the responsible person. As horrible as it was for the kids, it was hardly Egged’s fault, but the fathers.
sorry i agree, fathers fault on so many levels!! and why is it a horror story? the horror is that the father left the young children at the bus stop while he boarded to look for a familiar face.
#2 – Who says the driver was even Jewish that he had to Dan L’Kav Zechus? There are plenty of Arab drivers for Egged who don’t care one iota.
Why assume the driver is at fault?
Becauas his description of events just doesn’t make
sense. the father must have said, “let me off! my children at alone at the stop!”.
the driver claims all he knew was that a pasenger wanted to get off between stops. rediculous.
(comment based on the story as reported.)
We experienced an Egged bus driver’s refusal to stop at the station in Romema Illit where we wanted to get off. We were standing near the driver and the door and asked him several times to stop, but he kept driving another two stations before stopping the bus. When I wrote to Egged and reported the incident, they responded that they had investigated the matter and found nothing inappropriate.
Father’s fault. It seems to be a lack of bein adam l’chaveiro to make a whole bus wait while he looks for someone to watch his children. He even feels entitled to it!
Sorry but if the facts of the case are as described in the article, its the father who should be investigated for neglect. With all the trageies we read about, how could ANY father even think about putting 3 young children on a bus alone and relying on some stranger to tell them where to get off? The child welfare authorities should investigate whether he had done this before and if so, whether the children are at risk from being under his control.
Correction to prior posting; on reading the article again, it says the father was looking for a “familiar face” who would take responsibility for the 3 children he was going to leave alone on the bus. this still sounds irresponsible, unless this familiar face was a family member or close friend. Just because the “familiar face” was someone who he recognized from the bus, does not make that person can be truste with young children.
The Father is Very irresponsible!
BUT so is the Driver!!!!!
Just because the father was an idiot doesnt mean the bus driver has to be an Achzor / אכזר!!!!
father was looking for familiar face to tell his children when to get off? This does not impress me with the father’s good judgement to l’chatchila send small children without an adult.
Gadolhadorah/ lazerc — You misunderstood the story. The oldest boy was travelling — not 3 young children. The father was bringing his oldest son to the bus stop and had his other children with him. He walked on the bus with the oldest child, leaving the other kids off the bus as none of them were travelling. After settling his oldest son down he was supposed to get off the bus immediately, but the driver closed the door and started driving off, and would not let him off until the next stop. Therefore the younger children were left alone at the stop where they were standing waiting for the father to come off the bus.