Police in Whittier were investigating the death of a 19-year-old special needs student who was found unresponsive on a school bus after his mother called to report that her son had not returned home from school Friday.
The boy was picked up Friday morning by a bus, operated by “Pupil Transportation,” to attend Sierra Vista Adult School, according to the Whittier Police Department.
When he failed to return home by 4 p.m., his mother called the school, which then contacted the bus company. A driver went out to check the bus, which was parked outside the Whittier Unified High School District, and found the teenager lying in the aisle, police said.
Police responding to a 911 call from the bus yard in the 9400 block of Greenleaf Avenue, found drivers attempting to administer CPR to the student, according to Officer Brad White with Whittier PD.
Officers took over efforts to revive the student but were unsuccessful, White said.
The teenager was pronounced dead at 4:33 p.m., a news release from police stated.
The bus driver was questioned by investigators and released.
It was not clear how long the student had been on the bus.
Police at the scene said they were investigating the possibility that the student may have been left on the bus all day after receiving reports that he never got off the bus at school.
