Charlotte school bus driver charged with going off route, leaving kids on bus

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver is facing nine counts of misdemeanor child abuse, accused of going off his school bus route, getting off the bus and leaving the kids in their seats with the engine running.

Court documents in the case show Mark Sherwood Foster faces nine counts of child abuse. One of the children on the bus, the warrant said, was Foster’s child.

According to the court records, the incident happened on September 19. The charges were issued on Oct. 14.

The warrant also said Foster left the door open while he left the bus.

It is not clear from the court records what Foster did when he got off the bus nor how long he was gone.

The incident has gone unreported until now. School leaders did not disclose the incident—nor the charges—prior to WBTV’s questions.

CMS Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill would not answer questions about the incident when asked at a planned press conference Tuesday afternoon.

“I am not having this conversation with you right now,” Hill said when questioned by WBTV Chief Investigative Reporter Nick Ochsner.

WBTV could not immediately identify Foster’s attorney at press time.

This is the latest safety incident WBTV has uncovered involving a CMS bus. Earlier this year, WBTV uncovered three students who reported being sexually assaulted on a school bus and another student who was physically assaulted by a fellow student and dropped off the bus like normal, bleeding from the mouth.

School leaders have refused to answer repeated questions from WBTV this year about student safety.

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