A verbally abusive bus driver who was suspended after spewing curses at an autistic boy in 2005, is back on the road driving two Staten Island special-needs children, a published report said.
The Department of Education had promised to keep Robert Fischetti away from kids. Now, he's back behind the wheel, driving the two students from Staten Island to Brooklyn as part of a special arrangement brokered by a former DOE official, The Staten Island Advance reported.
The reinstatement of Fischetti is legally binding, DOE spokeswoman Ann Forte told the Advance.
Fischetti was accused of taunting and teasing little 8-year-old P.J. Rossi while on the bus. Fischetti called P.J. names, offered him sweets that didn't exist and said, "Good one!" after bus matron Connie Clark called P.J. a "little dog" for banging his head repeatedly against a seat, the Advance said.
The incident drew such outrage that the DOE promised to ban Fischetti for life from driving New York City kids to and from school, and prompted state legislators to mandate upgrades in training for school bus drivers and matrons who transport special-needs children.
