Georgia parents facing charges after dispute at school bus stop, sheriff's office says

An incident involving a Lumpkin County school bus student drop-off route has ended with three adults facing criminal charges, deputies say.

Officials with the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office say the situation happened at the Highland Trace Apartments on Monday afternoon.

According to the sheriff's office, the incident on bus 22-36 started before it even left Cottrell Elementary School, with reports of students yelling, fighting, throwing objects, and refusing to follow the instructions of school administrators. That behavior continued during the route, and officials say the driver, a substitute who had not operated the route before, had to stop multiple times to try to get students to follow safety rules.

When the bus arrived at the first of two stops at the apartment complex, deputies say that one student assigned to the second stop got out, which led the driver to tell them to return to the bus.

While the driver was attempting to keep all the students seated to continue the route, officials say adults came to the stop and asked that more students be released.

"The driver explained that those children were assigned to another stop and that she needed the students seated before proceeding," the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook. "As additional adults gathered around the bus and communicated with students through the windows, the students' behavior escalated. The driver requested assistance from school-system personnel."

Officials say another bus driver responded and began to help, at which point the emergency-release mechanism was activated. Investigators say a student noticed how the mechanism worked, opened the bus door, and parents came in and removed children.

While the investigation looked into claims that the children were held in the bus for around 30 minutes and that the bus driver had kept the students onboard without air conditioning as a punishment, they found no evidence of criminal misdoing connected with the driver. Instead, officials say that the air conditioning was temporarily turned off while traveling up a steep portion of a nearby street because it affected the performance of the gasoline-powered bus, but was back on after a short time.

On Wednesday, authorities issued arrest warrants for three adults, saying that they entered the occupied school bus, despite policies not authorizing them to do so.

April Michelle Disspain was issued warrants for simple battery, disrupting or interfering with the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct. Investigators accuse her making physical contact with the bus driver while forcing her way into the passenger area as well as using profane language during the situation.

Tony Ray Chastain was issued warrants for disrupting or interfering with the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct. The sheriff's office alleges that Chastain entered the bus, yelled and cursed at the driver while demanding that children be released, and either assisted or encouraged the unauthorized removal of children.

Mariah Quinones was issued a warrant for disrupting or interfering with the operation of a public-school bus after officials alleged she entered the bus and removed her child.

The case remains active, and investigators say they may take additional legal action if they determine there is probable cause to do so.