Richton Park mother demands answers after preschooler left on school bus for hours: EXCLUSIVE

RICHTON PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- A south suburban parent is demanding answers Friday after her preschooler was left on a school bus for hours, speaking exclusively with ABC7.

Her 3-year-old daughter Aziyah is now back home with her family in Richton Park, but there are questions over how the Matteson School District 162 bus driver didn't notice the child was still on the bus after morning drop off.

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The bus driver now no longer works for the school district, District 162 officials told ABC7 in a statement.

The child was apparently left on a bus for two or three hours. It wasn't until the school realized she wasn't in class that the search for her began.

Aziyah was safe and warm with her family Friday night after being left on a school bus in a snowy depot, cold, alone, and scared.

"She was just saying, 'Mommy, I was left on the bus. I was left on the bus,'" Aziyah's mother, Talia Anderson, said.

Anderson says it happened after a bus picked up her daughter around midday to go to preschool at Richton Square Elementary in Richton Park. Hours later, the school called Anderson, asking why Aziyah wasn't there.

"I was just, was she okay? Was she alive at this point? I just needed to know," Anderson said.

Later, the superintendent called back, saying Aziyah had apparently fallen asleep on the way to preschool and found on her bus at a depot in Country Club Hills.

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"I'm frustrated, because how can you really leave a 3-year-old on the bus, and I'm giving you to her in your care?" Anderson said.

Matteson School District 162 told ABC7 Aziyah, "was not delivered to the school," and instead was, "unknowingly transported back to the bus depot. The bus driver involved in this matter will no longer provide services for District 162 because safety policies and procedures were not followed."

"She's just been really thirsty ever since the situation, so I've just been giving her water, giving her apple juice, and trying to keep her hydrated," Anderson said.

The family says Aziyah plans to return to school on Monday, but they'll be driving her there themselves from now on.