School Bus Driver Charged After Four-Year-Old Left Unattended in Montville

A Hamburg man faces a second-degree child endangerment charge after a special needs student was left alone on a parked school bus for more than two hours in Montville earlier this month.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Chief of Detectives Robert McNally, and Montville Police Chief Andrew Caggiano announced that Frank J. Blair, 61, of Hamburg, has been charged with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child (N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(2)). Authorities allege Blair failed to check the bus as required by state law and company policy, leaving the four-year-old student unsupervised on July 10, 2025.

According to officials, staff at Valley View Elementary School in Towaco noticed the child’s absence that morning and contacted the parents, who confirmed the child had boarded the bus. The student was later found on the parked bus in the bus yard and transported to a hospital for treatment of an elevated heart rate and low blood pressure.

Following the investigation by the Montville Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit, Blair was charged and later released under conditions, including a prohibition on supervising juveniles.

Authorities emphasized that the charge is an accusation and that Blair is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.