ORLANDO, Fla. — This week, Orange County school leaders are making changes after a 5-year-old kindergartener was left locked inside a school bus for at least six hours, according to his parents.

The parents of 5-year-old Kyng Potts say it happened Tuesday at West Oaks Academy in Orlando. 

Potts is like any other kindergartener — spunky and full of energy.

He takes the bus five days a week to get to school at West Oaks Academy, and says he usually naps on the bus since he gets picked up so early.

On Tuesday, though, he said things were different. 

“When I woke up, nobody was on the bus," said Potts. “I was scared.”

Potts says he tried to get off the bus but couldn’t — and started to get hot.

According to school documents, it took about six hours for the bus driver to come back and find Potts locked on the bus. 

“I was tired, thirsty and hot,” the 5-year-old said. 

For his dad, George Potts, finding out what happened was one of the scariest phone calls he’s ever received.

“After everybody calmed down they finally told us that he was OK,” George Potts said. 

He said he rushed his son to the emergency room where doctors told him the boy was dehydrated.

Potts said he has already lost a son to gun violence and decided to send Kyng to private school thinking he’d be safer there, only for this to happen months later. 

“It is hard to lose a child," he said. "I can’t even explain it."

In a phone call, West Oaks Academy principal Michelangee Bertrand said the driver did not follow protocol, and school officials are establishing more procedures to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Moving forward, every bus will be triple checked after every route — drivers will be paired together for checks with bus coordinators doing another check, Bertrand said.

Bertrand also sent Spectrum News 13 the following statement:

"We are aware of the incident and were extremely displeased by it. We thank God that the child is safe. The driver failed to adhere to; and follow the procedure in place and therefore, was terminated. 

This type of incident is very concerning, completely unacceptable, and we are taking it very seriously. It should never have happened and to simply say we are sorry that it did is a tremendous understatement. We have processes in place and our drivers and monitors are trained to check each seat on their bus at the end of their run.

Although we have a longstanding history of this type of incident not occurring, we are reviewing the processes with all of our drivers and monitors and putting additional accountability measures in place to ensure that these types of situations do not occur in the future. We have been in communication with the family since the incident happened to express our regret and make them aware that we are here to support them.   

The safety and wellbeing of the child is our top responsibility. Most importantly, we are glad that the child is OK and we want to reassure our parents and community that student safety is and will continue to be of paramount importance to us. "

Kyng is one of 14 children who usually ride the bus he was left on.

Potts says his son’s bus driver was fired on the spot right in front of him.

“It felt good, but it is still not justified enough, because I could have lost my son," he said. "Right now, he wouldn't be here.”

Potts says he feels like his son is lucky to still be alive, and will no longer be putting him on the bus.

“Nobody is going to treat your kid like you treat your kid,” said Potts. 

Potts said his son is still recovering from the incident and has asked not to return to this school. Potts says he’s hired a lawyer and plans on pursing legal action.

The Florida Department of health shared these tips to avoid hot car deaths:

1. Never intentionally leave a child unattended in a car
2. Create a routine — always check the car’s backseat when leaving
3. Place a needed object near the child seat like a purse or try the left shoe
4. Set your cell phone alarm as a reminder to drop your child off at childcare, sitters, etc. 

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