A school bus driver who drove a bus load of kids to her house so that two of them could fight each other, is now behind bars.
29-year-old Patrice Sanders, of 1100 Enterprise Street in Lakeland has been charged with one count of false imprisonment, two counts of child abuse, two counts of child neglect, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Deputies said, Sanders, who was driving kids from three Bartow schools – Gause Academy, Summerlin Academy, and Bartow High School – as part of her normal duties, heard two young females, 13 and 16 years old began to verbally argue. She was heard to make the statement, “This is going to be handled today and they just need to fight.”
Sanders then drove the school bus directly to her house, bypassing any and all stops she was supposed to make to let kids off the bus, deputies said.
The children were ordered off the bus and the two females – a 13-year-old Hispanic female and a 16-year-old black female – were told to fight. Sanders told the girls she would give them Vaseline or baby oil to put on their faces so their faces wouldn’t get scratched during the fight.
According to the arrest report, the 13-year-old told Sanders that she did not want to fight.
The girls then physically fought in Sanders’ front yard, as witnessed by Sanders and all of the other children who had gotten off of the bus. At least one child videotaped the fight on a cell phone.
See fight video here.
Deputies said, Sanders did not try to stop the fight, but stood by and watched. The girls fought until they decided to quit. Sanders then ordered all of the kids back onto the bus. Once the bus was in motion, the girls began physically fighting again. Sanders this time, pulled over the bus, watched the fight and didn’t try to stop it, deputies also said.
When the girls stopped fighting, Sanders told the kids on the bus, “What happens on the bus, stays on the bus,” and then proceeded to take them all to their bus stops.
The 13-year-old victim’s mother reported the incident to PCSO and took her daughter to the hospital to be checked out. She did not have any serious injuries. On Thursday, detectives interviewed both the 13-year-old and the 16-year-old,
Sanders was arrested and charged. Additional charges could be forthcoming, pending further interviews with other children who were on the bus.
