8-year-old found ‘crying and running’ in extreme cold after being left on school bus

On one of the coldest days of the year, Celine Tavachi was forgotten on her school bus. David Ivasek has her story.
On the morning of February 4, Celine Tavachi woke up alone on an empty school bus, the temperature -25 degrees Celsius without wind chill.

When her cries for help went unanswered, the eight-year-old desperately tried to find a way out, growing colder and more distraught by the minute.

“I tried to open the emergency exit, but I couldn’t, I didn’t know how,” Celine said. “I was shaking with fear.”

“My feet were freezing, my hands were freezing.”

Celine started kicking the front door, and eventually she opened it wide enough to get out and find herself in the endless rows of empty buses.

“I was screaming, ‘Help, help.’ No one could hear me.”

Celine Touachi, 8, was found in the bus yard after her bus driver failed to check the bus and left her inside when she was dropped off. (Galen McDougall / CTV News Edmonton)

Celine’s father, Marwan Touachi, said he had put his daughter on the school bus at 7:45 a.m. that morning.

At 9:30 a.m., he received an automated call saying his daughter had been reported missing — he thought it was a simple mistake.

“I started calling the school about seven, eight, nine times,” Marwan said. “Nobody would answer.” “Finally, around 10 a.m., I got a call from Glengarry School. It was the principal.”

Marwan was told his daughter had fallen asleep and had been left behind at school. While bus drivers are required to check buses before leaving, this driver did not.

“She parked her bus, never checked to see if anyone was there or anything — she just closed the door, turned the bus off and went home,” Marwan said.

“She’s screaming, ‘Help, help!’ No one answered, and she’s crying and running and carrying her backpack,” Marwan said.

A woman driving another bus found Celine, and the third-grader eventually got off at school.

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It was more than two hours from the time Marwan dropped her daughter off until they called her to say she was found. She still doesn’t know how long she was stuck on the bus or alone in the compound.

She said she’s filed a report with Golden Arrow, but hasn’t received one yet.

Golden Arrow confirmed to CTV News Edmonton that a student was left on the bus for a “brief” period of time after the service ended on Feb. 4.

“We have a strict policy where school bus drivers are required to conduct a safety check after completing a route and students have been dropped off at school to ensure no one is left on the bus,” said Golden Arrow president Zachary Bartel.

“In this case, the driver did not follow that policy and has now been relieved of his duties and is no longer employed by Golden Arrow.”

Glengarry School, where Celine attends, called the incident “unacceptable and deeply concerning” and confirmed that the driver responsible is no longer employed by Edmonton Public Schools.

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