Amy Currioman

My good friend was recently fired from her job as a school bus driver for Fauquier County.  This was exactly one week from the date that her school bus was struck by a car that was running a red light.  Although the driver of the car was given a ticket for running the red light, my friend was fired from her job.  The reason she was given was totally bogus – that the administration had “lost confidence” that she could handle another emergency.  Prior to her being fired, she was congratulated and thanked for keeping a calm head by the vice-principle of the school she was driving for, and sent an email of gratitude from the mother of one of the students for keeping a calm head and keeping the kids feeling confident and safe.

I think that the real reason she was fired was that she had told her boss that she was going to go see a therapist to talk to about the accident; she wanted to make sure that her lack of an emotional breakdown was not some kind of suppression that would end up coming to surface at a bad time later on.  And the therapist did assure her that she was handling everything perfectly well and to not worry about not having had a nervous meltdown.  I think that she was smart to go see the therapist, and I think that the county should offer counseling to any bus driver involved in an accident.  But the county does not do that, and instead of giving their employees the support that the need, they treat them like disposable food trays.  That’s very shameful.