COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A local man said he became concerned about the safety of children after he said he saw a Boys & Girls Club bus speeding down an area interstate.
He captured and shared cellphone video of the bus in the act with Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez.
"I was shocked, mostly, when I realized there was kids on the bus," Shawn Zwilling said.
Zwilling admits he sped up and used his phone to record the incident when he realized the bus belonged to the Boys & Girls Club.
"You see in the video, I almost had to go almost 85 mph to catch the bus to see what kind of bus it was. That's when I saw it was a Boys & Girls Club bus," Zwilling told Jaquez.
That infuriated the father-of-two who said he first spotted the bus being driven at a high rate of speed around the Newnan area of Interstate 85 on Tuesday afternoon.
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He said he followed the speeding bus for about 20 miles before it merged onto Interstate 285.
"Then she continued to accelerate and when she got to the point where I believed she was going close to 90 mph, I backed off," Zwilling told Jaquez.
Jaquez showed the video to the organization Wednesday afternoon and they immediately took action by launching an internal investigation.
By Thursday, the organization confirmed that the female driver, who has worked for them for a number of years, was excessively speeding.
The sent Jaquez a statement that reads, in part:
"We are deeply alarmed and concerned to learn of this incident. We have identified the staff member who was driving and they will be terminated."
The organization told Jaquez the driver was transporting about a dozen children back from a day trip at Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain when she was captured on video.
“She knew rules, regulations, so you know I really had nothing to do with that. She did this on her own. She didn't have to drive like that with her kids on the bus,” Zwilling said.
Full statement from the Boys & Girls Club:
We have learned that a Boys & Girls Club bus belonging to our A. W. Tony Matthews Club was excessively speeding yesterday on 1-85. The incident took place Tuesday afternoon. The bus was returning from a field trip at Wild Safari in Pine Mountain and had children on board.
We are deeply alarmed and concerned to learn of this incident. We have identified the staff member who was driving and they will be terminated.
The safety & well-being of the young people we serve is our primary concern.
Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of the young people we serve. We do not tolerate inappropriate activity or unsafe behavior on the part of any Club staff, member, or volunteer.
We have many practices and policies in place to ensure the safety of the kids we serve including:
- Adherence to all federal, state, and local motor vehicle regulations, laws, and ordinances. Drivers are expected to maintain a reasonable speed, observe the laws, and practice good safety procedures.
- Extensive training for all drivers including Defensive Driver's Training, CPR, and first aid.
- Required criminal background screening and drug testing of all employees.
- Adherence to appropriate staff to member ratios at all times to ensure staff and children are not left alone together. Staff may never be alone with a child in a room with closed doors.
- Proper supervision in buses or vans. We limit the time a child is alone on a van or bus with the driver, by adhering to a strict schedule, with unauthorized stops prohibited.
- A written discipline policy to avoid any inappropriate disciplinary techniques, and which states that any activity deemed abusive to a child will be dealt with immediately, and if criminal in nature, referred to the authorities for disposition. All staff and volunteers also go through mandated reporter training.
We are taking steps to address this incident and will revise internal practices accordingly.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta is committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and integrity. We will continue to review and revise our internal practices to make sure our kids are served in the safest environment possible.
Cox Media Group
