Bus driver charged after 4-year-old special needs student left on school bus for more than 2 hours in Morris County
MONTVILLE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Morris County) — A school bus driver has been charged after a four-year-old special needs student was allegedly left unattended for more than two hours on a parked school bus earlier this month in Montville Township, officials said.
According to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Chief of Detectives Robert McNally, and Montville Police Chief Andrew Caggiano, the incident occurred on July 10, 2025. The child, who had boarded the school bus that morning, never arrived at Valley View Elementary School in Towaco.
Staff at the school noticed the child’s absence and contacted the child’s parents, who confirmed their child had gotten on the bus that morning. A search followed, and the child was eventually located on the bus, which had been parked in a bus yard. The child had been left unsupervised for approximately two and a half hours.
The student was transported to a local hospital for treatment of an elevated heart rate and low blood pressure.
Following an investigation by the Montville Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, the driver, Frank J. Blair, 61, of Hamburg Borough, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Authorities allege that Blair failed to check the bus in accordance with state law and company policy. He has since been released on conditions, including a prohibition against supervising juveniles.
