HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – This school year marks Billie Barrett’s 21st year driving a bus for the Aldine ISD.
“It’s in my blood,” she told KPRC. “It’s part of my DNA at this point in my life. Children and their safety is my main concern.”
Barrett was on a route Friday morning, training a new bus driver, when she spotted a little boy standing in the middle of WW Thorne Street, right in front of Lone Star College in North Harris County.
“The baby had stepped out and was literally on the white line that divides the lanes of traffic,” Barrett said. “He was literally in the middle of the road.”
Barrett and the driver she was with stopped the bus, she got out to try and help the little boy. It was unclear to Barrett where he came from because there aren’t any neighborhoods nearby.
“I started screaming, I went into mommy mode,” she said. “I started screaming, ‘Mommy, mommy!’ He turned and looked at me but he took off running in the opposite direction.”
Barrett eventually caught up with the little boy and called the police.
“He looked up at me and smiled and I realized that he was special needs baby,” Barrett said.
Turns out the boy was 7 years old and had wandered away from a YMCA run daycare on the same street.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “The child exited through an emergency door, which failed to trigger an alarm when opened. The owner of the facility has taken immediate action to resolve the issue. We are thankful the child is safe and was not harmed.”
“Fortunately, God put me in the right place and there was a happy ending today,” she said.