RIVERVIEW, Fla. — A Hillsborough County woman is facing charges after deputies say she first refused a school bus driver's request to get out of her car to retrieve her child, then intentionally rammed the school bus with her car when the bus driver tried to bring the child back to the school.
- Incident occurred Nov. 19 around 2 p.m.
- No injuries reported
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According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, around 2 p.m. Tuesday Ashley Laquita Moore, 34, was parked near her child's bus stop near Early Run Lane and Herons Path Place in Riverview. When the school bus arrived, Moore refused the bus driver's request that she get out of her vehicle to retrieve her child from the bus, which is required by school district guidelines.
The agency said the bus driver advised Moore that if she did not get out of her car the child would have to be returned to the school. When the bus driver tried to drive away, Moore reportedly drove her car into the back of the bus to prevent it from leaving.
Video surveillance captured the entire incident, according to the sheriff's office.
"I need to see you out of the car," the bus driver can be heard saying at the start of the encounter. "I can't just have you just sitting there and think you're going to come up and get him."
"I don't know who you are and I'm not going to argue with you about him," she said later, after she told Moore she was going to take the child back to the school if she didn't get out of the car.
No injuries were reported. Moore was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and culpable negligence.
Moore is the child's aunt and maternal guardian, according to the sheriff's office.
Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister issued the following statement regarding the incident:
We value the safety of our children in Hillsborough County more than anything, and we will not stand for someone putting a child's life at risk. This mother's actions were irresponsible and completely uncalled for, since the bus driver was simply doing her job to protect the child on board. Aggressive behavior like this on the roadway is unacceptable."
To see the surveillance video released by the Sheriff's Office, watch the video above.