A violent incident involving two young students aboard a St. Johns County school bus left one child injured and his mother irate.
Ashleigh Sargent, a World Golf Village resident and mother of two boys aged 10 and 12, described a chaotic scene last Thursday afternoon after receiving a panicked call from her son’s Wards Creek Elementary School bus driver.
Grayson, a 5th-grader, was on the line, crying and saying he had been attacked on the bus.
“I pulled up and there was blood everywhere,” Sargent told The Citizen. “My son was standing on the steps with a paper towel to his head, the aisle and seats stained with blood. I thought we needed to get to a hospital.”
Emergency services were called and met the family at home. Sargent, who currently works in HR but has prior medical training, said paramedics evaluated her son and determined the injury, while bloody, was not serious.
But Sargent said she remains concerned about the psychological trauma and the lack of immediate action from the school.
Sargent said she was disappointed that she didn’t hear from school officials after the incident — aside from Grayson’s classroom teacher.
“The Wards Creek Elementary School administration and the St. Johns County School District transportation department investigated this incident, “ said Chief of Staff Paul Abbatinozzi in a statement. “Appropriate disciplinary actions have been taken in alignment with the Student Code of Conduct and behavior that interferes with student safety and wellbeing will not be tolerated. The parent has received communication from the school and district office administration as well.”
According to her son and student witnesses, the incident involved another child striking her son from behind with a backpack, causing a head injury. The weapon—a backpack—was allegedly flung with enough force to cause a gash.
Sargent claims other parents have since come forward with concerns about the same student, alleging past troubling behavior. The mom said the school bus incident went well beyond horseplay.
She told The Citizen that the other student remained on the bus and at school the next day, while her own son stayed home due to fear. He has not returned since.
“I don’t want to ruin anyone’s life,” Sargent said. “That’s not what I am trying to do here. But I also don’t want this to happen to another child. My son did nothing wrong, and now he’s the one missing school.”
As of now, the matter remains under investigation by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the school district.
