NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A Nashville elementary student is describing how an attack on the school bus ended with him in the hospital, and his mother is not happy about how things were handled.
"He was kicked in the head repeatedly - shoe marks. He also has marks all over his back," said mother Hope Sparks.
Sparks said bruises on her son Daniel's body and footprints on his clothes show where he was kicked and stomped repeatedly on the school bus.
"He has marks on the back of his head. He has lumps," she said. "Really, he was having the tar kicked out of him by six girls on the bus."
Daniel, a fifth grader with special needs at Brick Church College Prep, said a group of girls attacked him on the bus Thursday morning.
"They were punching me and stuff - making me mad," Daniel said.
Daniel said he bit several of the girls to defend himself and even admits biting the bus driver after claiming the driver pushed him down the steps.
"I broke the door, so the bus driver kicked the door open," Daniel said.
"Because he was trying to get off the bus because these kids were repeatedly kicking him," Sparks said.
Daniel's injuries were bad enough that he was taken to the hospital, and his mom is concerned the driver may not have handled the situation properly.
"From my understanding, while he was being kicked and punched, he just kept driving the bus. He never stopped until a ways down the road," Sparks said.
Channel 4 News has confirmed several students involved have been disciplined, and Metro Schools officials said they are still speaking with the bus driver about what happened.
LEAD Public Schools, the charter school group that oversees Brick Church College Prep, issued a statement, saying in part:
"We are continuing to work with the MNPS transportation department to fully investigate this incident. As with everything we do, we hold our students and those entrusted to support them to the highest expectations in school and while on the bus and will continue to work closely with the MNPS transportation department to ensure that all personnel and students are held accountable for their actions."
For now, Sparks said she is making sure Daniel rides on a different bus.
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