Douglas County bus driver faces 30 counts of child abuse

Aimed to teach lesson

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A former school bus driver for the Douglas County School District is facing 30 counts of child abuse after purposefully slamming on the brakes, causing injuries to students.

Brian Fitzgerald, 61, was driving students home from Castle Rock Elementary School on March 1 when he brake checked the bus, telling the students they needed to sit properly in their seats, according to video obtained by KRDO. Multiple students hit their heads on the seat in front of them or the bus windows and one student allegedly had a cut on the cheek.

Fitzgerald would later say he was trying to “get them in their seats” and that the students were “bouncing all over the place.” In the bus video, students can be heard denying that they were rowdy and asking why Fitzgerald suddenly braked.

In a statement, the Douglas County School District said Fitzgerald’s behavior was “completely unacceptable.”

“ e video is incredibly di cult to watch,” the statement said. “Riding a bus to and from school should be a happy, enjoyable experience for students.” e district also thanked those who reported the incident.

“We are so grateful to the parents and the principal who reported this incident, allowing us to take swift action and ensure this driver was never again allowed behind the wheel of a DCSD bus,” the district statement said.

Fitzgerald has not responded to an interview request from Colorado Community Media.

In a letter Fitzgerald wrote to the district after the incident, he said students were in a “hazardous location” and he told the students four times to sit before hitting the brakes. He apologized for his decision.

“I am sincerely sorry for my choice of actions today in my e orts of training students,” he said. “I am still 100% responsible for my actions in trying to both educate and control students on the bus. Being a new driver, I did not make the best decision and if I were able to redo what I did I would rethink my decisions.”

Fitzgerald was hired by the school district in October 2022. e day of the brake check incident was his rst driving a general education route instead of a special education route, according to reporting from KRDO. Fitzgerald was a substitute bus driver on the Castle Rock Elementary School route.

He is scheduled to be in court on May 12.