Clearbrook client left on bus for three hours

A bus driver accidentally left a mentally handicapped woman on a bus for three hours on Monday, Arlington Heights police said.

The 36-year-old woman was picked up at around 9 a.m. at Clearbrook in Rolling Meadows, a facility for children and adults with developmental disabilities, said Cmdr. Nick Pecora of the Arlington Heights Police Department.

The woman, along with 10 other Clearbrook residents, was driven to a day care center in Schaumburg, arriving around 9:30 a.m., Pecora said.

At the center, all other residents were helped off the bus but the woman was forgotten, Pecora said. The driver then drove the bus, with the woman still on it, back to Clearbrook's administration office in Arlington Heights, where the driver got off, Pecora said.

"Several hours later, the Schaumburg center called Clearbrook and said they were missing a person," he said. "Someone at Clearbrook checked the bus and found her still sitting there."

The woman, who is unable to speak, was found at around 12:30 or 1 p.m. She was checked out at the hospital and released back to the Clearbrook center, Pecora said.

Police did not press charges against the bus driver, but they did notify the Illinois inspector general's office about the incident, Pecora said.

Sheila Lullo, vice president of adult services at Clearbrook, said the driver was "disciplined" but would not say if he was fired.

"We are incredibly grateful that she is fine," Lullo said. "The bus driver did not follow the proper safety precautions, precautions that he was trained on."