A school bus company has fired one of its Calgary drivers for keeping kids warm in subzero temperatures with her SUV.
Kendra Lindon, who has driven a school bus for First Student Canada for eight years, was dismissed by the bus company on Feb. 12 for picking up several kids in her SUV after her bus broke down, according to CTV News.
Lindon told CTV her school bus wouldn't start on the morning of Feb. 12 when the temperatures hovered around the high -20s. She called the company to send a replacement bus, but doubted one would show up since she'd had the same problem the day before and a second bus never appeared.
Worried about the kids waiting outside along her route, who are in junior high and "often don't dress appropriately for the weather'", she drove her Cadillac Escalade to where a fellow bus driver would start his trip. Lindon asked him to pick up the students along part of her route while she would pick up the rest in her car.
At least six students got into her car, CTV reports, with a handful more piling in after she parked to wait for the bus, according to the Calgary Herald. At one point, so many students piled into her car that two boys had to sit in the back of the vehicle, where there were no seatbelts.
One of the boys waiting outside was on crutches and not wearing a hat or gloves, she told the Herald.
The replacement bus eventually arrived, but Lindon got a call later that day from the bus company telling her to come to the headquarters, where she was promptly fired for picking up students in her personal vehicle, which is against company policy.
Several parents have written letters to First Student, according to the Calgary Sun, with one arguing that her decision to keep the kids warm and safe should outweigh the fact that she broke a rule.
While a representative from First Student hasn't commented, the Herald obtained Lindon's dismissal letter, which stated her actions were "unsafe" and "unacceptable".
Lindon said while she knows two of the kids weren't wearing seatbelts, she had no idea that picking up the kids was against First Student's policy and she was just acting like any parent would.
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