JONESBORO, Ark. – A school bus driver for Nettleton School District reported he was punched in the face by a student Wednesday afternoon.
Jonesboro police responded at 4:08 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, to the Nettleton Bus Shop to speak with the driver, Kenneth Tyler, 70, who is a bus driver for the Nettleton School District. He said at about 3:30 that afternoon, he was stopped at Caraway Commons and Sunny Meadow dropping off students from school. As the students were exiting the bus, a male student, 14, came up from behind him and struck him once across the right side of the face with his fist.
The man said the juvenile exited the bus and ran toward Caraway Commons Apartments.
Several other students witnessed the incident. The school bus driver had redness and bruising to the right side of his face. He reported the incident to his supervisor, who made him file a report for documentation. He was provided information on how to press charges through the juvenile court system.
After leaving the bus shop, police went to the suspect’s residence. They spoke to the juvenile and talked to his mother by phone to explain the situation. The boy admitted to being on the bus and alleged he had past problems with the driver “using racial slurs,” the report said. The teen did not admit to striking the bus driver.
The mother was advised of the seriousness of the situation. The child could face a felony charge second degree battery of a teacher or school employee.
Follow NEA Report on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news developments from across Northeast Arkansas.
Support us on Patreon to help us grow.
This 70 year old man is my brother in law. This is not the end of this story. After this slap, my brother in law has suffered headaches that kept getting worse. He was sent to Memphis Hospital where he found out he had a brain bleed. He has had to go back several times to both the Jonesboro Hospital and the Memphis Hospital since this slap. He has also lost the use of one side of his body and can not get around.
Right now, as I am writing this, he is in Memphis Hospital having a hole drilled in his head to drain some of the blood off. Hopefully, he can finally have some relief from the pain he has suffered since this slap. I hope that 14 year old boy has learned a lesson from this. And, my brother in law is not racist. He might be the most non-racist man there is and the kindest. He didn’t even want to turn this young man in because he didn’t want to get him in trouble. I wonder what the young man feels?