N.J. mom: School bus left my 5-year-old at wrong stop ... again

A mother in northern New Jersey was furious after she says her daughter was dropped off at the wrong stop and then put on the wrong bus all in the same week, CBS New York station WCBS-TV reports.

Melissa Clayton's 5-year-old daughter, Mia Autrey, was left outside their apartment building with no one to pick her up when she was supposed to be taken to an afterschool program Thursday.

Clayton said she feared the worst.

"Panic, panic," she said. "I was scared to death."

Clayton said this wasn't the first time Mia was left outside their building instead of being taken to the afterschool program. She said the Trans Ed bus company made the same mistake with Mia on her first day of school in September.

"The bus driver did come back and say, 'I am sorry, I'm sorry; she was sleeping.' And I said, 'Well, that's when you're supposed to pay closer attention to make sure she got off at the right spot,'" Clayton said.

A neighbor spotted Mia and took her in from the cold.

Trans Ed told WCBS-TV that it is looking into the incident but wouldn't comment further.

Clayton said the school's superintendent said it wouldn't happen again.

"Thursday night, the principal called me and said, 'Oh I apologize for what happened with transportation. We're going to handle that,'" Clayton said.

So it was easy to imagine Clayton's shock when a teacher put Mia on the wrong bus Friday.

"They apologized, but, you know, it's kind of hard to accept their apology when it's your kid," Clayton said.

Clayton said she feels a little less stress now that the school district transferred Mia to the elementary school where her afterschool program is located.