Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Police and medics were called shortly after 7:30 a.m. Dec. 19 to Emerson Academy, a charter school at 501 Hickory Ave., on a report that a DPS bus driver had been assaulted.
“The defendant drove her car next to the bus, entered it, angrily accusing the driver of purposely … not picking her son up and taking the son to school. Instantly, the defendant started attacking the victim by striking her face with a closed fist. This occurred only seconds after the defendant arrived and as the students watched all of this in horror,” Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said during a Dec. 29 media briefing announcing Franklin’s indictment on one count of felonious assault.
The children had just gotten off the bus, but were standing in front of it while the driver, a 45-year-old woman, was attacked, he said.
“This kind of behavior is completely unacceptable, goes against everything we stand for as a community, goes against everything we stand for as parents,” Heck said.
David Lawrence, then DPS interim superintendent, previously said Franklin’s son was not at the bus stop when the driver arrived.
“After waiting approximately one minute with no sign of the children, the driver closed the door and proceeded with the route. After reviewing all available footage, the district can conclude the driver did nothing wrong and followed all district protocols,” he said.
The bus driver suffered serious injuries, Lawrence said, which included a fractured orbital bone and broken nose during the attack captured on the bus video system, according to court records.
Chrisondra Goodwine, DPS board president, said previously that Franklin’s behavior “cannot be swept under the rug.”
“(School bus drivers) are civil servants and they should be treated with the utmost respect. … We’re doing everything that we can to protect our drivers, as well as create deterrence for individuals who want to cross that line,” she said.
Franklin remains free on a $50,000 bond pending her Sept. 5 sentencing.
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