OVIEDO, FL – A daycare bus driver in Oviedo, Florida, was apprehended on Wednesday following accusations of leaving a 6-year-old girl in a hot vehicle for over an hour. It is presumed that the driver, Barbra Ledbetter, didn’t perform a mandatory check to ensure no children were left aboard after she parked the vehicle at All About Kidz, an Oviedo daycare center.
The Oviedo Police Department reports that the child, who was sleeping on the bus, woke up experiencing extreme heat and trouble breathing. She was rescued when a passerby parent responded to her banging on the bus window.
The arrest affidavit states that Ledbetter was charged with child neglect after an investigation was initiated by the Department of Children and Families. She has since been fired from her position at All About Kidz. The All-About Kidz spokesperson reiterated that the safety of their children is their utmost priority.
The affidavit also alleges Ledbetter, whose duties required her to physically inspect all seats at the back of the bus, signed a verification log indicating she had checked the bus, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Ledbetter was later released from the Seminole County Jail after posting a $2,500 bond.
The 2021 Child Safety Alarm Act, championed by State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, following a child’s death in 2017, mandates alarms on vans and buses used to transport children to and from childcare facilities. Stewart emphasized the critical importance of the legislation in ensuring a child’s life safety.