4-Year-Old Girl Found Alone on School Bus in Texas Heat

A 4-year-old Texas girl was found alone on a parked school bus after officials say she was left behind for hours in dangerous summer heat, triggering outrage from her family and swift action from the school district.

The child, identified by her mother as Jahlyrika Keys, was supposed to arrive at her elementary school on Thursday, July 23. But according to her family, she never made it inside the building.

Instead, Jahlyrika remained on the bus after the morning route ended. The school district said the driver failed to perform a required post-route safety check, a step meant to ensure no children are left behind.

“The driver involved in this incident failed to follow protocol and the student should never have been left alone,” school officials said in a statement to PEOPLE.

The driver, identified only as a 53-year-old, was fired following the incident.

Jahlyrika’s school was reportedly about 10 minutes away from the district’s bus barn. Her family told local NBC affiliate KXAS-TV that they were not notified she was absent until about two hours after the school day had already started.

By then, the little girl had allegedly spent hours alone in the bus as temperatures climbed in the Dallas area. Weather Underground recorded temperatures reaching 97 degrees that day.

The frightening incident could have ended in tragedy. Medical records shared by Jahlyrika’s family with KXAS stated that she was “at risk for hyperthermia,” a dangerous condition that can happen when the body overheats.

School officials called the incident unacceptable and said they are now reviewing transportation procedures. The district said it is reinforcing required safety checks and adding more safety training for transportation employees to help prevent anything like this from happening again.

Jahlyrika’s family said they plan to speak publicly about what happened after consulting with an attorney.

For now, the incident remains under investigation.