JEROME, Idaho (KBOI) — Cell phone video out of Jermone, Idaho surfaced on social media that shows a former North Side Bus Company employee confronting a student and pouring water on him.
The video also shows Mary Black telling the student, "I live in America and it's an English speaking country. So if you want to speak to me, you speak to me in English."
The video surfaced Thursday and the bus driver has since been fired. The owner of Northside Bus Company says they chose to let Black go despite short staffing.
Miguel Martinez, an 8th grade student at Jerome Middle School, says he accidentally dropped a water bottle on the bus, which is why he thinks the bus driver confronted him.
"She got mad and went and grabbed the water bottle," Martinez said. "She was like, 'I'm going to pour it on you because you poured it on other people,' and I was like, 'It was an accident when I poured it on her and I didn't even mean to.' She was all like, 'And? And?' And that's when she poured the water on me and said it was an accident,'" Martinez said.
Brayan Tapia, a freshman at Jerome High School, captured the video on his cell phone. He says it proves something he's been telling his parents for years; that this wasn't an isolated incident.
"This has been going on for several years but no one has ever recorded her and each time we try to tell someone, she kicks us out of the bus," Tapia said.
Tapia hopes the new video evidence can shed light on the mistreatment of people because of their heritage and skin color.
Jerome School District's superintendent says he's spoken with the bus company and is aware of the video.
