A five-year-old girl smashed the window of a New York City school van after being trapped inside for hours when the driver abandoned her.
Queens resident Mahtabul Bhuiyan said Women’s Association of North America (WABC) Her daughter was picked up in a private van around 7 a.m. Thursday to be taken to Al-Ihsan Academy in South Ozone Park.
However, the driver failed to check if there were any students inside after dropping them off and drove 10 minutes to Richmond Hill for a doctor’s appointment, locking the sleeping kindergartener inside.
The girl was frightened when she woke up, but managed to use her hard-soled shoes to break one of the windows and gave her father’s phone number to a stranger who called for help.
“Yesterday it was like 82 degrees outside. And the minivan had the windows completely sealed. From 7 (a.m.) to 10:30 (a.m.). So she could have died. She could have died,” Bhuiyan said. PIX11.
A five-year-old girl (pictured) was trapped inside her school van on Thursday after she was picked up to be taken to Al-Ihsan Academy and fell asleep.
The kindergartener managed to use her hard-soled shoes to break one of the windows (pictured)
“She was trapped in that minivan for three hours and she’s not unconscious. I’m so proud of her because she was so brave. I can’t imagine how she handled that situation.”
The father said his daughter felt hot while trapped in the van, so she began to take off her uniform and drank her entire water bottle.
According to AccWeather, the high temperature in New York City on Thursday was 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The van was completely dark, no one could see her from outside, it was tinted. She opened her dress and drank water, she drank it all because it was too hot inside. She could have died inside,” Bhuiyan said.
Al-Ihsan Academy is a private Islamic school that costs $6,250 annually for grades K-8. The fee includes private transportation provided by the school and costs $175 per student per month.
The driver of the school van, a man named Faruk, told PIX11 he forgot to check the back seat.
Her father, Mahtabul Bhuiyan (pictured), said his daughter felt hot while trapped in the van, so she began to take off her uniform and drank her entire bottle of water.
Al-Ihsan Academy (pictured) is a private Islamic school located in South Ozone Park that costs $6,250 a year for grades K-8.
—No, no. I don’t know. Because she was sleeping, he said. Yes, it was a mistake. A mistake. Inshallah. I will do it, inshallah. Sometimes I forget, like sometimes. Do you understand?
The school issued a statement calling the incident “unfortunate” and offering its support to parents.
“We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident. The driver has been suspended. We have met with the parents and will continue to offer them support,” Al-Ihsan Academy said.
On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle, according to the National Security Council.
So far in 2024, 32 deaths have been reported and more than 1,000 children have died in such incidents over the past three decades.
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