Texas School Bus Driver Arrested After Taking Student into Floodwaters, Say Cops

Police in Texas arrested a school bus driver after he drove into a flooded road with a student on board. A video camera showed the bus as it was swept away by a raging current.

Police in Leander, Texas, arrested 57-year-old Nathan Deyoung on a charge of child endangerment and for failure to obey warning signs. The arrest followed an October 16 incident where Deyoung allegedly drove a school bus, with a student on board, into a flooded low-water crossing, FOX News reported.

A dashcam video recorded the moment that police say Deyoung drove around a barricade before approaching a flooded road. The video shows the bus stop for a few seconds before driving into the strong currents covering the roadway. The driver then proceeds until the water crashes over the hood of the bus.

Suddenly, the bus is lifted from the roadway and begins floating off the road. The bus became lodged against the trees and brush.

“The biggest factor in these circumstances is buoyancy,” Leander Police officials stated in a post on Facebook. “For each foot the water rises up the side of the vehicle, the vehicle displaces 1,500 lbs. of water. In effect, the vehicle weighs 1,500 lbs. less for each foot the water rises. Just two feet of water can carry away most vehicles.”

The driver and the lone student passenger were rescued from the flood. The young boy’s mother, Ashley Ringstaff, said her son was “exhausted” by what happened but he was not injured.

The Leander Independent School District reportedly fired Deyoung following the incident.

Leander police processed Deyoung into the local jail where he was eventually released on a $10,000 bond.

“Water isn’t forgiving and has more force than most people think. Just because you think you can make it across a low water crossing, doesn’t mean that you will,” Ringstaff concluded. “It’s not worth it, ever.”