A 5-year-old girl was hospitalized after she was left in a bus by a day care teacher Tuesday in suburban Arlington Heights.
The girl was picked up from school by the daycare bus Tuesday afternoon and then driven to the South Arlington Heights KinderCare, 1003 S. Arlington Heights Road. All other children exited the bus, but she was left behind, Arlington Heights police said.
The girl was in the bus for several hours during freezing temperatures and was found asleep.
Paramedics were called, and she was taken to a local hospital, police said.
A KinderCare spokesperson said safety protocols were not followed. The teacher who left the student and the center director were placed on administrative leave while administrators investigate.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care,” KinderCare said in a statement. “We have strict safety protocols specific to bus safety that should have prevented this kind of situation. We reported this issue to state licensing and are working with them and the police to determine what happened and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.”
It was not known if charges would be filed.