New Baden, Illinois four-year-old bitten on school bus ride

By Alex Fees

KSDK -- A four-year-old is recovering from numerous bites her grandmother says she received on the school bus coming home from Trenton Elementary School on Friday. Trenton Elementary is located in the Wesclin Community Unit School District in Illinois.

"The minute I put my first foot on the step, the bus driver said, 'She's been crying since we left the school,'" said Paula Montgomery, the girl's grandmother.

Montgomery and Maliyah's mother, Brittany Hinojosa, said the bus driver, a man in his 60s, was a substitute. They say there were three students on the bus, and Maliyah and the girl who allegedly attacked her were seated next to each other, strapped into child safety seats.

"She's literally pushing against the harness that's holding her in," said Montgomery, "and she's literally screaming 'Get me out! I need band-aids!' As soon as I saw her hands, I automatically screamed, 'What did you do to her?' All the while she's got a fingernail that's hanging off of her hand. I've never seen her so terrified. I hope I never have to see her endure something like this again."

Montgomery said the bus driver indicated he did not know what happened to the girl. Photographs show bite marks up and down her arm, on her shoulder, and on both hands.

"This is not a large bus, this is a short bus," said Montgomery. "This is an early childhood education bus, which picks up three or four children. And they're sitting directly behind the bus driver."

Montgomery blames the driver for not intervening.

"An adult who is responsible for the safety of a little girl has that common sense right to pick that child up and move her away from the danger," Montgomery said. "I looked at him pointed my finger at him and said, 'You're going to pay! You're going to pay for ignoring her pleas for help.'"

Wesclin Community Unit School District Superintendent David Daum said it does not appear the bus driver did anything inappropriate. Daum said the bus driver did stop the bus, twice, to investigate what was wrong, but Maliyah's long-sleeved shirt prevented him from seeing her wounds.

Maliyah's mother, Brittany Hinojosa, said Maliyah and the girl who allegedly attacked her were seated next to each other.

"All I can think about is, 'how did she feel?' Because she was strapped down. And no one helped her. And he was only two feet in front of her. And if he couldn't hear her, then he should have never been driving the bus in the first place."