DERIDDER — Mike Fligg and his wife, Kristen, are at a loss.

The Fliggs’ 6-year-old son was driven home from K.R. Hanchey Elementary by strangers Thursday instead of arriving on a school bus.

About a week beforehand their son was on a bus that was involved in an accident on school grounds. Mike Fligg said officials failed to notify him in both cases.

Between Fligg’s job as military police on Fort Polk and his wife’s work schedule, the couple relies on a school bus to ensure their son makes it home safely. But now they don’t know what to do.

Fligg said his son arrived home Aug. 15 more than an hour after his normal drop-off time and that the school failed to notify him of the accident, between a truck and the bus.

In the time between when his son was supposed to be home and when a second bus arrived, Fligg said, he and his wife were unable to reach anyone at the school or district office.

He said his son told him that the impact from the collision caused him to hit his face on the seat in front of him.

“(The accident) was bad enough that that truck had to be towed. It wasn’t a minor collision, but that doesn’t matter,” Fligg said. “What matters is we weren’t notified.”

Superintendent Tim Cooley said the district has a protocol for incidents involving student transportation to ensure child safety. He said parents fill out green cards that specify to whom the district may release the child.

When there is an issue with a school bus, he said, the district sends another bus as quickly as possible and continues the route. “Students and their safety are of the utmost importance to us,” he said. “If there are issues, they will be addressed.”

Cooley said the district had taken action on the bus accident but did not provide details. He said it had been addressed and that “in the future it will be handled properly.”

Cooley declined to comment on what Fligg claimed, saying he had yet to speak to the man.(MGNonline)