WAUKESHA, Wis. — New details have emerged about what happened during a terrifying bus ride in Hartland. Court records show a parent ultimately got the driver to stop before he took off again. The man is now in jail on a $1 million bond.
Walter Cunningham, 72, is facing 28 counts of recklessly endangering safety—one count for each child on the bus, plus one for the parent who got onto it. He is also facing an operating while intoxicated charge.
Cunningham did not speak while in the courtroom, but parents of the children on his bus were not quiet.
"This was extremely terrifying. My child was missing for over 30 minutes," said a mother who did not want to give her name.
The prosecutor says the man was supposed to safely get children from school to their homes. But instead, he drove off and left them on the side of a busy road in 30-degree weather. Another mother who came to court says that when she arrived at the bus, all the children were scared.
"I will never forget the look of this kindergartner who came right to me with these big blue, teary eyes, not knowing where she lived or how to get home," said the unidentified woman.
Court records say Cunningham, who was new to driving the route, missed the first stop. The bus company believes he was circling back, but then he kept missing the stop and also missed other children’s stops. Records say children yelled out about their stops, and Cunningham yelled back. At one point, yelling escalated between the children and the driver, and he was heard shouting, "I am God on this bus."
Records show he also slammed on the brakes multiple times during the yelling, causing kids to slam into the seats.
Watch: Hartland school bus driver gets $1 million bond
"Some of these victims complained of injuries," said Chris Bailey, Waukesha County court commissioner. "One child, who is 4, had some injury, perhaps a concussion."
Police say Cunningham did not have any alcohol in his system, but he told them he takes multiple prescription medications.
"This could have been one of the greatest tragedies in Waukesha County history. This could have been so much worse. This is terrible. As such, the court is going to set bail accordingly," said Bailey.
Cunningham did not enter a plea. He will be back in court March 3.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
