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South Florida school investigating after 6-year-old girl left alone on parked, empty school bus

Girl falls asleep inside school bus, wakes up locked inside vehicle
Girl falls asleep inside school bus, wakes up locked inside vehicle 03:06

MIAMI -- A bus driver for a South Florida school has been removed and an investigation is underway after the parent of a young girl said her child was left alone on a parked, empty bus.

KIPP Miami said in a statement that it regards the safety of its students as its highest priority after the 6-year-old girl named Unique was discovered on the school bus in Hialeah. 

The girl's mother said she was outraged but relieved after the incident.

Mom and daughter
Unique, 6, and her mother speak after the girl was left alone on her school bus Monday. CBS News Miami

The girl was hot, sweaty and desperate to get out to find help.

Her mother received a generic text message from her daughter's school saying Unique was not in class on Monday.

A Good Samaritan saw the girl and called police.

Her mother said she is relieved that her daughter is OK.

"This could have gone left," she said. "This could have gone a different way."

The mother said she has removed her daughter from the school.

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