DRAMA: Child waiving “HELP US” sign from school bus on Mid-Cape Highway…
West Barnstable – Some children are likely in a lot of ‘hot water’ tonight after a highway hoax attracted more attention than they bargained for…
At about 3:30pm today, a motorist on the Mid-Cape Highway contacted Barnstable Police dispatch reporting she saw a child on the back of a school bus waiving a “HELP US” sign. She told police she lost sight of the bus when it turned off at Exit 5 in West Barnstable…
She also told police that it was a Cape Destinations school bus (like the one in the above photo…) and she was unable to tell if the passengers were actually in distress or not…
Patrolman Kevin Donovan, along with other officers, started heading toward the general area to investigate…
An alert patrolwoman inquired with a traffic detail officer working near Exit 5 and learned the bus was now heading south on Route 149… she also learned the detail officer did not recollect seeing any passengers in distress…
Meanwhile, dispatch officers contacted the principal at the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School which uses Cape Destinations for their school buses. Dispatch relayed that the principal was in the process of contacting the bus company when Patrolman Donovan reported back he had already initiated a call to the bus company and that he was presently talking with them…
After talking with the bus company, Donovan was able to have them tell the bus to pull over and wait for him at a book store near the intersection of Route 130 and Route 28…
When Donovan caught up to the bus he learned two things: one, the students on board were not in distress… and two, the older “children” involved needed to be talked to regarding the seriousness of the prank they had just pulled…
Also, according to police sources, the student’s parents were notified and told all about the prank which set off a chain of events reserved for real emergencies…
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if the principal at the Tech has some consequences of his own planned for the little darlin’s when they return to school on Monday.
Robert Bastille,
P.S. – Tonight’s HyTown Vignette is brought to you by Eminem… [Press play]
