Left on school bus, boy honks horn to send SOS

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:53 JST, November 9, 2022

MORIOKA — A 7-year-old boy in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, was momentarily left on an elementary school bus last week, and the city’s board of education apologized for the negligence Tuesday.

The boy honked the bus’s horn shortly after the vehicle’s door was locked, drawing the driver’s attention and preventing any serious harm. The boy reportedly was taught by his parents to honk if he was left behind in a vehicle.

According to the board of education, the 72-year-old school bus driver finished his job, parked the bus at a parking lot in the city at around 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 and locked the bus without checking inside. The boy, who was sleeping at the time, woke up to the sound of the door closing and sounded the horn. The boy was trapped for about a minute, the board said.