A Yass mum believes her decision to put her two-year-old in an aisle seat on a childcare centre bus may have saved his life.
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Police are investigating how two-year-old Alijah Reynolds came to be left unattended on the Yass Little Learners (YLL) bus for up to six hours on Wednesday, February 20.
The mother, Cassandra Brown-Crane, said Alijah had picked a window seat that morning, however, she moved him to the new child seat on the aisle.
“He could have third-degree burns had he been sat in direct sunlight,” she said.
Ms Brown-Crane also said Alijah was the only child collected by the YLL bus that morning. YLL has confirmed this to be true.
Ms Brown-Crane said she placed two-year-old Alijah on the 12-seater bus that morning, but would have driven him to YLL herself if it had been ten minutes later.
He won't leave the house without toys, his bottle or hat. It's like he's in survival mode.
- Mother, Cassandra Brown-Crane
Ms Brown-Crane said it’s up to the parent to place the child on the YLL bus, while the driver signs for the child. She believes the centre is now reviewing that policy to make the parent responsible for signing-off the child.
YLL said it had suspended the bus driver pending a full investigation by centre management.
Alijah is happy and healthy, however, Ms Brown-Crane said she's noticed some small differences in his behaviour.
"He won't leave the house without toys, his bottle or hat. It's like he's in survival mode," she said.
Ms Brown-Crane said she has been "torn apart" by comments on social media that the reason Alijah returned to YLL on Thursday was because she had accepted financial compensation.
"If I took a payment on Wednesday, would I have gone to work that night?" she asked.
Ms Brown-Crane said she left Yass Hospital with Alijah at 5pm on Wednesday and was at work at the Yass Soldiers’ Club by 6.20pm.
Your question of 'what happened' is just as good as mine.
- Mother, Cassandra Brown-Crane
She said she's not in a position where she can't work.
She also said she's worried if she sues YLL that other parents' child care arrangements will be affected.
"Alijah has love and life. He doesn't need a bank full when he's 21," she said.
She and Alijah's father have asked for space to process the situation.
"No one knows what we're going through. Alijah is smiling, but their father and I haven't smiled in the past two days," she said.
"Your question of 'what happened' is just as good as mine."
Police are investigating how Alijah came to be left unattended on the bus on February 20.
Another mother who claims her child was left unattended on the YLL bus two years ago, has been interviewed by police as part of the investigation.
The YLL bus driver from two years ago is not believed to be the same bus driver that was recently suspended.
The centre is open and charges have not been laid at this stage.
Ms Brown-Crane was meeting with Family and Community Services (FACS) and police on Thursday to answer questions as part of the investigation.