WEST POINT, Utah (KUTV/KSTU) – A Utah mother is suing a school district after a bus dragged her child for almost 200 feet.
She says it’s because her son is biracial. The bus driver says he’s being framed.
The surveillance video from inside the bus shows several students getting off before driver John Naisbitt closes the bus doors right behind the 14-year-old boy.
“I couldn’t even comprehend how it happened,” said Brenda Mayes, the boy’s mother.
The video shows students panicking as the bus moves forward for an estimated 20 seconds, dragging the child close to the tires.
“I was glad he didn’t kill him. I was glad he didn’t go under the wheels,” Mayes said.
She argues Naisbitt shouldn’t have even been driving the bus on February 4. The suit argues he had a history of misconduct against children of color dating back to 2017.
“Something failed. They have a responsibility when I put my kids, send them off to school, they have a responsibility to make sure they are safe,” Mayes said.
To keep from getting fired, Naisbitt said he retired three days after the incident.
When asked if he was racist, he said, “Not at all, no. Look at my dog, he’s black as could be.”
Naisbitt says eight buses were lined up behind his when he warned the students he was moving forward.
He argues the incident was staged after he disciplined the boy’s brother.
“I didn’t see him in there. If I would have, I would have stopped,” Naisbitt said.
In response to the suit, the district said any issues of discrimination are thoroughly investigated:
The Davis School District takes any claims of racial discrimination seriously and does not tolerate any form of racial discrimination in our schools.”
“If they don’t tolerate it, why do they tolerate it in this case?” Atty. Robert Sykes asked.
The lawsuit is asking for unspecified damages for the child.
