Longtime bus driver disciplined kids in incident

Huntingburg — Video of Don Astrike, a contract bus driver for Southwest School Corporation, shows he placed his hands on a student and jostled him but witnesses say this was a disciplinary action.

The mother of a student reported her daughter was the target of bullying by the boys and Astrike was disciplining them at the time of the incident.

The Huntingburg Police Department and Southwest Dubois County School officials opened an investigation into the incident after receiving complaints from the male student’s mom about Astrike’s actions.

According to Al Mihajlovits, the corporation transportation director, a parent filed a complaint with Principal Kelly Murphy and the Huntingburg Police Department stating her child and another child were assaulted by the driver last Wednesday.

School buses contracted by the school corporation have video surveillance devices on them. Mihajlovits stated that the police department and school officials have reviewed the video footage of the incident on the bus.

The video clearly shows the driver’s actions but police are reporting after viewing the video, the mother of the child Astrike disciplined declined to file charges against the bus driver.

According to police, the case has been forwarded to the Dubois County Prosecutor’s office and they will determine if any action is warranted.

Astrike has been suspended from driving the bus since the incident was reported and school officials are waiting to make a decision on whether he will return to that position based on the completion of their own investigation and any pending charges from the prosecuting attorney’s office.