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A former Mesa bus driver admitted to yelling obscenities at students and slamming on the brakes out of anger, throwing an 11-year-old into the windshield, Mesa police say.
According to court documents, Jamie Tellez began driving when two children, an 11-year-old and a 10-year-old, were to his right in the first-row seat.
Surveillance video shows boy hanging forward over the seat and another standing partially in the aisle and partially on the seat with the other boy.
Police said Tellez got angry when the 10-year-old hanging over the seat threw a piece of paper and missed the trash can.
Investigators said Tellez can be heard yelling obscenities at the students before slamming on the breaks in surveillance video of the incident.
The sudden stop caused an 11-year-old to fly forward and hit his head on the windshield, cracking the glass. The boy’s head and hip were injured.
Video shows Tellez then grabbing the boy who hit the windshield by his backpack and pushing him toward the rear of the bus, where he took another seat.
Court documents say Tellez told the boy who hit the windshield it was his own fault. Police said he did not check to see if the child needed medical attention.
Tellez continued to curse at the boy who threw the trash, saying, “Every day I would like to beat the (expletive) out of your little (expletive),” according to court documents.
Court documents say Tellez did not notify staff of the incident or the parents of the boy who injured his head. Investigators said surveillance video showed the child was holding his head where it hit the windshield as he exited the bus.
Mesa Public Schools fired Tellez and contacted Mesa police when they learned of the incident.
During an interview with police, Tellez admitted to abruptly stopping the bus out of anger because the 10-year-old threw the trash.
Tellez was arrested and booked for child abuse, threatening or intimidating, endangerment and reckless driving.