'Highly alarming': Parents of boy, 11, left in van told footage corrupted

The parents of a boy locked alone in a van for hours are demanding answers after learning the transport company’s CCTV footage was corrupted. 

The Auckland couple want to know what happened to their autistic, non-verbal 11-year-old child who failed to turn up to school and was discovered inside a Ritchies Transport school van four hours later. 

Six weeks later, they have been told the van’s CCTV footage was corrupted and could not be retrieved. 

Ritchies has confirmed efforts to recover video from the in-vehicle camera had failed. 

The parents have now emailed police and the Ministry of Education with their concerns. 

“We just want to know what happened to our son in those four, five hours. 

“It’s highly alarming and suspicious.” 

It’s understood the family have been told the school van was left parked at the driver’s home while he used a different vehicle to run errands. 

Ritchies confirmed the driver was no longer employed with the company. 

Police have completed an investigation which a spokesperson said found “there was no criminal culpability”. 

An in-person meeting was held between the parents and Ritchies this week. 

“When we got there, they ran us through what happened that day and then at the end they said the footage was corrupted and could not be retrieved,” the boy’s father said. 

“I asked them about the footage, and they said they didn’t know what happened and that it was working fine the day before and after.” 

Ritchies said efforts made to retrieve the footage, including the use of forensic experts, were unsuccessful. 

“The camera was working in the days prior to the incident, but on review it had experienced some issues. 

“It is not correct to say the camera suddenly worked again the next day. The camera was replaced, and that is why it was working in subsequent days.” 

Ritchies said it had been able to provide “some reassurance” to the family about the driver’s actions, but could not detail it publicly. 

“Ritchies deeply regrets the footage is not available and has apologised to the family. The Ministry of Education has previously been informed.” 

An internal review has been completed, and details provided to the ministry. 

Ritchies is contracted by the ministry, which provides specialised transport to schools for children with specific needs under Specialised School Transport Assistance (Sesta). 

The father said that, despite several emails with the Ministry of Education since the incident, the failure of the CCTV footage had not been mentioned. 

Ministry of Education group general manager of national services and programmes Andrea Williams told the Herald it formally required Ritchies to undertake a full investigation. 

“The provider has supplied its investigation findings and supporting information to the ministry, including information relating to the CCTV footage. 

“The ministry is now determining whether the provider has met its contractual and safety obligations and whether further action is required.” 

The 11-year-old should have been dropped off at Manuka Primary School in Glenfield, which provides satellite classes for the specialist Wilson School. Photo / Google Maps 

The incident came to light after a text was sent to the boy’s parents saying their child was absent from school despite being picked up by a Ritchies Transport van at 8.20am on June 5. 

The child attends Wilson School, which provides specialist education for students with high needs. He was supposed to be dropped off at Manuka Primary, in Glenfield, on Auckland’s North Shore, where the school’s satellite classes take place. 

However, his parents were told at 11.01am that he was marked absent. 

“We immediately contacted the school and were informed that they could not locate him and were attempting to determine his whereabouts,” the parents said. 

They were told at 12.52pm that he had been found inside the school van. 

“The driver had failed to drop [our son] at school. Instead, after dropping off two other students at separate schools, the driver returned to his home while [our son] remained inside the vehicle.” 

When the driver returned to the school about 1.15pm to drop the boy off, he failed to provide an explanation before driving away. 

The incident happened less than a fortnight after 8-year-old Gurshabad Singh escaped unnoticed from a Ritchies school van and drowned in a West Auckland backyard pool. 

An investigation was launched by police and the coroner, with WorkSafe, Ritchies and the Ministry of Education also making inquiries.