Mother says bus driver denied her access to son having seizure

An East Flatbush mother says she was prevented from helping her child who was suffering a medical emergency on a school bus.
Donmarie Birch says she told the bus driver she knew her son with epilepsy was about to suffer a seizure just by looking at him but that she was denied access onto the bus.
Birch’s 9-year-old son had been picked up from his second day of school at P.S. K141. He was then supposed to be dropped off in front of his home, but the driver allegedly refused to release the child to his mother.
Birch says the driver did not believe that she was the boy’s mother, even after identifying herself.
She says the boy was on the bus for more than an hour when his epileptic symptoms began to act up.
“My job as a mom is to protect my son,” says Birch. “So can you imagine me as a mom, I’m on the outside of the bus and I can’t save him.”
The unidentified driver only opened the bus doors after an altercation with EMS officials.
The bus company, Reliance Transportation, did not return News 12’s repeated request for comment.
The Department of Education tells News 12 the case is being investigated and there is a detailed protocol to make sure students are safely picked up by approved guardians.
Birch says she wants the driver of the bus to be arrested and never be able to drive a bus again.